This project contributes to the Science Component of the St. Johns River Water Management District Springs Protection Initiative (SPI), http://www.sjrwmd.com/springs/initiative.html. The partnership is called the “Collaborative Research Initiative on Sustainability and Protection of Springs,” or CRISPS. While the overall goal of the SPI is to acknowledge that effective management of springs requires that understanding of the relative influences and manageability of the numerous natural and anthropogenic forcings that affect their ecological health, the objectives of this portion of research are as follows:
- Develop one or more flow-way designs based on modifications to the “Bentho Boxes” proposed for experimental work by the Nitrogen Effects/Dynamics and Tropic Interaction Groups and the experimental design used by King (2012Develop a series of riverine transects where velocity measurements will be made using both a floating Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) and point-based Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) under a variety of flow conditions.
- Collect point-based ADV measurements in areas of dense vegetation and deliver to District staff in an agreed upon format.
The purpose of the University of Florida Spring System Hydrodynamics/Hydraulics work is to: 1) yield a more thorough understanding of the velocity and residence time distributions in the channel of the Silver River and to quantify the location and magnitude of hyporheic vs. channel storage and exchange; 2) identify critical shear stresses for the entrainment and detachment of filamentous algae; and 3) link study findings to ongoing 3-D modeling with a focus on submerged aquatic vegetation impacts on velocity, residence times, and effects on stage-discharge relationship. For more information regarding the SPI project, visit: http://www.sjrwmd.com/springs/investigation.html |
