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Impacts of Everglades Restoration on the Atmosphere ABSTRACT
16TH Global Warming International
Conference A multi-decade multi-billion dollar program has been approved to "restore" the Everglades by increasing water levels and flow of water out to sea. Concerns about the impact of nutrient-rich agricultural and sewage inputs into the Everglades on downstream ecosystems of Florida Bay and the reefs of the Florida Keys and Southeast Florida have prompted recognition of the need to monitor impacts of water quality released by the project. However no attention has been paid to impacts on the atmosphere. We have found that the Everglades and surrounding habitats are one of the most intense atmospheric sources of climatically active gases in the world, including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and sulfur gases. These act to increase global warming, acid rain, smog, and lower atmosphere ozone, while depleting stratospheric ozone. We have also found that release of all these gases from the Everglades is extremely sensitive to small changes in water levels by drainage and flooding, and to the nutrient content of the waters. The restoration project will therefore inevitably have a strong impact on production of all these gases, with regional and potentially global pollution and climatic impacts. As the magnitude of these changes is complex and uncertain, detailed monitoring of climatically active gases is an essential component of the environmental impact assessment of the project that is lacking. This critical gap must be urgently addressed. |
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