| Abstract: | Previous hydrological models of the Okefenokee Swamp watershed were developed without the benefit of accurate empirical data on surface runoff into and out of the swamp, and without data on direct ground water flow into the swamp. Data from a network of ground water observation wells during 1981-82 have revealed that ground water amounted to only 1.3% of total swamp inputs. This figure is much lower than had been expected and confirms that the swamp portion of the Okefenokee watershed is predominantly a surface-water system. A simple conceptual model of the watershed hydrology with upland and swamp compartments, and upland wetland, upland terrestrial, swamp prairie-marsh, and swamp forest-shrub subcompartments, indicates that in 1981-82 actual evapotranspiration from uplands and swamp was 78% and 84% of precipitation, respectively, and that upland surface runoff contributed only 13% of swamp inputs. Significant differences between the long-term and 1981-82 hydrological budgets emphasize that the Okefenokee Swamp is a dynamic hydrological system. |
