Review of the St. Johns River Water Supply Impact Study


Book Description

The St. Johns River is the longest river in Florida, containing extensive freshwater wetlands, numerous large lakes, a wide estuarine channel, and a correspondingly diverse array of native flora and fauna. Water resource management in the river's watershed is the responsibility of the St. Johns River Water Management District (the District). The District must provide water for the region's 4.4 million residents as well as numerous industrial and agricultural users, all while protecting natural systems within the river basin. With population growth in the watershed expected to surpass 7.2 million in 2030, the District, through its water resources planning process, has begun to identify alternative sources of water beyond its traditional groundwater sources, including the potential withdrawal of 262 million gallons per day from the St. Johns River. To more comprehensively evaluate the environmental impacts of withdrawing this water from the river, the District embarked on a two-year Water Supply Impact Study (WSIS), and requested the involvement of the National Research Council. The present volume reviews the Phase I work of the WSIS and provides recommendations for improving Phase II.




Water from Stone


Book Description

"A research tour de force that seamlessly melds archaeology, geology, ecology, environmental history, and a contemporary conservation ethic. Not only is this volume a must read for scholars interested in Florida’s past, but it is one that deserves to be read by anyone interested in Florida’s threatened environments."—T. R. Kidder, Director of the Washington University in St. Louis Geoarchaeology Lab "O'Donoughue writes thoughtfully and poetically about Florida’s geological history and long-term patterns of environmental change and cultural adaptation. A compelling case for the relevance of archaeology to current environmental concerns."—Christopher B. Rodning, coeditor of Fort San Juan and the Limits of Empire "Examines Florida’s critically important springs and discusses how they were used and modified over thousands of years by local inhabitants, placing the springs in a deep historic context while offering well-informed suggestions for their long-term management and use."—David G. Anderson, coeditor of Archaeology of the Mid-Holocene Southeast Throughout their history, Florida's springs have been gathering places for far-flung peoples. In Water from Stone, Jason O'Donoughue discusses the genesis of springs and their role as sites of habitation, burials, ritualized feasting, and monument building for Florida's earliest peoples. O'Donoughue moves beyond a focus on the ecological roles of springs and the popular image of springs as timeless and pristine--approaches taken by many archaeologists and conservationists. Instead, he foregrounds the social and historical importance of springs and their ongoing use as gathering places that draw people for ritual purposes even today. This archaeological viewpoint creates a bridge between past and present, encouraging conservation efforts that focus on the intrinsic value of springs as places of personal experience and social interaction with deep historical significance. To save the springs, O'Donoughue argues, we must recognize the relevance of the past to the problems Florida's artesian springs face today. A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series













Subsurface Hydrological Responses to Land Cover and Land Use Changes


Book Description

Since human beings first appeared on the earth, we have changed land cover and land use for our own purposes, such as conveniences and high productivity. As a result of the land cover and land use changes, many serious environmental problems occur on the earth. Studying meteorological and hydrological effects of vegetation and land cover/use changes helps us to understand the environmental changes and problems happening near the earth surface, because the vegetation distributes the solar energy and water on the earth surface into atmosphere and geosphere. Subsurface hydrological responses to land cover and land use changes have drawn only regional environmental concerns, although global change caused by biosphere change has been studied in various scientific fields. The changes in land cover and land use alter water, solute and heat cycles in basins and elements of those balances, including evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge rate, discharge rates into rivers or ocean and soil moisture content, which are directly or indirectly related to the global environmental issues. Therefore, the changes in biosphere may substantially alter the subsurface hydrological system. For instance, increased groundwater recharge rates following clearing forest into grasses might be one consequence resulting in rising water tables and salinization.










Submarine Groundwater


Book Description

Sustainable management of water resources is quickly increasing in importance on a global scale. An important piece of the puzzle is the characterization of marine water and determining its importance to geochemical budgets. To do this, submarine groundwater discharges must be carefully studied. Comprehensively exploring the subject, Submarine G




Climate Change and Groundwater


Book Description

There is a general consensus that for the next few decades at least, the Earth will continue its warming. This will inevitably bring about serious environmental problems. For human society, the most severe will be those related to alterations of the hydrological cycle, which is already heavily influenced by human activities. Climate change will directly affect groundwater recharge, groundwater quality and the freshwater-seawater interface. The variations of groundwater storage inevitably entail a variety of geomorphological and engineering effects. In the areas where water resources are likely to diminish, groundwater will be one of the main solutions to prevent drought. In spite of its paramount importance, the issue of 'Climate Change and Groundwater' has been neglected. This volume presents some of the current understanding of the topic.