Lowered salinity in Florida Bay

[James C. Hendee]

    Those of you studying the influence of high salinity and high 
temperature water from Florida Bay on the survival of coral reefs along 
the Florida Straits may find it interesting to follow the salinities and 
temperatures reported from the Long Key C-MAN station (the only station in 
Florida Bay) and those on the oceanic side of the Florida Keys, such as 
Molasses Reef, Sombrero Reef, Sand Key and Dry Tortugas over the next 
couple of days.  There has been over 11 inches of rain fallen over south 
Florida, the Everglades and Florida Bay over the last 72 hours, and the 
salinities have dropped in Florida Bay correspondingly.  There may be a 
drop in salinities on the oceanic side, maybe not.  Any unusual biological 
events witnessed by divers, boaters or scientists (!) in the area would be 
of value.  Current C-MAN postings may be followed at 
http://coral.aoml.erl.gov/cman/cman_menu.html if you're interested. 
Historical oceanographic data for the region will be available soon.  
These data will contain, for some stations, salinities and temperatures at 
1 meter, 2 meters and 3 meters deep.  

    Jim Hendee 
    (hendee at coral.aoml.erl.gov)