| Description |
Land development and alterations of the ecosystem in South Florida have decreased freshwater and increased nutrient flows into Florida Bay. As a result, there has been a decrease in the water quality of the bay; the decline in water quality has prompted sea grass die-offs and has led to reduced fish populations. Restoration of water quality in Florida Bay will depend partly upon using numerical-circulation and sediment-transport models to establish water-quality targets and to assess progress toward reaching restoration targets. Application of these models is complicated, however, because of complex sea-floor topography (basin-mudbank morphology). The only complete topography data set of the Bay is 100 years old. Consequently, an accurate and modern sea-floor or bathymetry map of the Bay was critical for numerical modeling research. A modern bathymetry data set will also permit a comparison to historical data in order to help access sedimentation rates within the Bay. The U.S. Geological Survey USGS conducted a mapping project from 1995 to 1999 in the Florida Bay to collect new bathymetric data for the entire bay. This study produced a detailed bathymetric data set of Florida Bay in order to help assess sedimentation rates and provide numerical modelers with an accurate bathymetry map. This report serves as an archive of processed single-beam bathymetry data that were collected in Florida Bay, Florida over multiple cruises between 1995 and 1999. Geographic information system data products include a XYZ data, bathymetric contours, and USGS quadrangle maps. Additional files include formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata. [More]
|
