Effects of Hurricane Ivan on water quality in Pensacola Bay, Florida |
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| Authors: | James D Hagy John C Lehrter Michael C Murrell |
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| Institution: | 1. National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Gulf Ecology Division, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Drive, 32561, Gulf Breeze, Florida
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| Abstract: | Pensacola Bay, Florida, was in the strong northeast quadrant of Hurricane Ivan when it made landfall on September 16, 2004
as a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. We present data describing the timeline and maximum height of the storm
surge, the extent of flooding of coastal land, and the magnitude of the freshwater inflow pulse that followed the storm. We
computed the magnitude of tidal flushing associated with the surge using a tidal prism model. We also evaluated hurricane
effects on water quality using water quality surveys conducted 20 and 50 d after the storm, which we compared with a survey
14 d before landfall. We evaluated the scale of hurricane effects relative to normal variability using a 5-yr monthly record.
Ivan's 3.5 m storm surge inundated 165 km2 of land, increasing the surface area of Pensacola Bay by 50% and its volume by 230%. The model suggests that 60% of the Bay's
volume was flushed, initially increasing the average salinity of Bay waters from 23 to 30 and lowering nutrient and chlorophylla concentrations. Additional computations suggest that wind forcing was sufficient to completely mix the water column during
the storm. Freshwater discharge from the largest river increased twentyfold during the subsequent 4 d, stimulating a modest
phytoplankton bloom (chlorophyll up to 18 μg l−1) and maintaining hypoxia for several months. Although the immediate physical perturbation was extreme, the water quality
effects that persisted beyond the first several days were within the normal range of variability for this system. In terms
of water quality and phytoplankton productivity effects, this ecosystem appears to be quite resilient in the face of a severe
hurricane effect. |
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