Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies

Site Home Page
Research Projects Heading
Listing of all Research Projects
Research Project Area: Biscayne Bay
Research Project Area: Loxahatchee
Research Project Area: Puget Sound
Research Project Area: Tampa Bay
Methods and Tools Heading
Tools: Electrical Resistivity
Tools: Electromagnetic Seepage Meters
Methods: Radon
Methods: Radium
Publications Heading
Publications Topic: Submarine Groundwater Discharge
Publications Topic: Sound Waves
Links Heading
Project Collaborators
Project Contacts
Project Media Coverage
Organizations

Biscayne Bay Project Background

Biscayne Bay is an estuarine lagoon that is approximately 61 km long and 18 km wide, located just south of the Miami-Dade County metropolitan area. Most regions of the bay have been variably impacted by agricultural, municipal, and industrial activities. Submarine groundwater discharge into the bay has been prominently observed. Noted declines in adjacent offshore coral reef health and overall ecological stress may be linked to alterations to the groundwater and surface water flow paths, groundwater and surface water pollution, or other large-scale factors such as sea-level fluctuations. An approximately 75 km survey of Biscayne Bay for surface water 222Rn activities and streaming resistivity profiling was conducted during June 7-9, 2004.

Methods

Methods used for this project include the use of streaming resistivity profiling, continuous water-column 222Rn mapping, and the deployment of electromagnetic seepage meters to identify and quantify submarine groundwater discharge at select sites in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Such data support and validate variable-density modeling results, and provide insight into the mechanisms and scales of SGD in Biscayne Bay.

SGD Investigations at Biscayne Bay
Biscayne bay location map.
Figure A. Landsat TM image of south Florida showing Biscayne Bay and Miami. Water-column 222Rn and streaming resistivity survey track lines (A-A’ and B-B’) as well as the electromagnetic seepage meter site (•) at Cutler Ridge are identified.

Print Publications: Reports

Click on the images below to open a printable version of the USGS Report in Adobe Reader.

NOTE: PDF files may be viewed using Adobe Reader public domain software. If unable to access the PDF files, please contact aharrison@usgs.gov.
Open File Report 2004-1226 Fact Sheet 2004-3117
Open File Report 2004-1369
OFR 2004-1226 (808 KB PDF)

Submarine ground water discharge and its role in coastal processes and ecosystems http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/ofr/2004-1226/
FS 2004-3117 (1.16 MB PDF)

Novel geophysical and geochemical techniques used to study submarine groundwater discharge in Biscayne Bay, Florida http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/fs/2004-3117/
OFR 2004-1369 (1.03 MB PDF)

An autonomous, electromagnetic seepage meter to study coastal groundwater/ surface-water exchange http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/ofr/2004-1369/

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/sgd/html/biscayne.html
Page Contact Information: Feedback
Page Last Modified: October 17, 2007 @ 05:06 PM (JSS)