Nature designed Florida to be one large marine ecosystem. Florida is one big sand peninsula located below the 40th longitudinal North American line. Three bodies of salt water (Gulf of Mexico, Strait of Florida and Atlantic Ocean) surround three out of four directions of Florida. Man-made canals, natural lakes, rivers and estuaries are confined within the State of Florida’s physical boundaries. All of these form an interlocking system of waterways that impact the interconnected marine environment (marine ecosystem). All of Florida’s waterways are connected back to the surrounding bodies of water while passing through Florida’s sub-tropical and temperate zones and impact the delicate marine ecosystem balance. Man and nature are …show more content…
Each of these areas has a historic recorded hit by one or more major hurricanes. Because hurricane winds start at 75 mph and can reach up to 156 miles per hour or more, the damage of the winds can be extensive (NOAA). Winds will rip the roof off of a house or tip over a mobile home. Debris is scattered with bullet like force. Storm surge floods buildings, streets and lands. Hurricane spawned tornado winds cause extra natural destruction. Finally, what little natural habitat is left untouched by humans can be fully devastated by hurricane aftermath.
Most Atlantic hurricanes start out in the North Atlantic Ocean, which is called the hurricane breeding ground. Rarely a hurricane will form in the Caribbean Sea and sometimes the Gulf of Mexico. The extremely rare tropical storm is one forming right off of a landmass. This rarity occurred in the most recent 2009-hurricane season with the eye of the tropical storm named Claudette coming ashore over the Florida panhandle and reaching 60 mph of the 75 mph limit to be considered a category 1 hurricane (NOAA). Under average circumstances, once formed, a tropical storm will build up speed as it spins across the warm shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (NOAA) building into a hurricane and then moving across the water until dissipating over a landmass. A hurricane shifts the ocean’s sand banks as
Here are some things hurricanes can destroy, houses, boats, cars, trucks, and stores. A positive thing is that people know when a hurricane is coming. An effect is that Hurricanes affect people by boarding up doors and windows. Another effect is that Hurricanes can cause damage to buildings and vehicles.
Florida needs to build up an arrangement to deliver its defenselessness to a dangerous atmospheric devation, as 27 different states have officially done. One assignment is to recognize the best dangers and, where conceivable, add to the ability to adjust to them with negligible interruption and expense. A second errand is to diminish discharges of an Earth-wide temperature boost poisons from force plants, autos, and other real sources. Much of the time, sound judgment arrangements exist - utilizing vitality all the more productively and tidying up influence plants - that likewise spare cash or enhance nearby air quality. Comparative activities are additionally required at the national level since Florida can't take care of such abroad issue alone. The genuine threat is that deferring capable activity would make it past the point of no return or a great deal all the more exorbitant to balance out the atmosphere before the century's
The Everglades National Park protects the largest wild life area east of the Mississippi River. The Everglades are the largest remaining sub-tropical wild life area in 48 states sitting on 1.5 million acres preserved at Florida’s tip off shore. The Everglades contain various ecosystems such as rivers, lakes ponds, marshes, etc. These wild life areas feature both fresh and saltwater areas, open prairies, pine rock lands, tropical hardwood forests, offshore coral reefs, and mangrove forests. This paper will summarize how humans contributed to the destruction of the Everglades and how man is working to save the Everglades. Since the Everglades is comprised of both fresh and saltwater areas the vast range of wildlife species in the Everglades include but not limited to reptiles, mammals, aquatic birds, etc. The vast spectrum of wildlife living in the Florida Everglades include but not limited to aquatic animals, mammals, reptiles, etc. Of this vast spectrum of wildlife living in the Florida Everglades there are 56+ species who are either endangered or are in jeopardy of being endangered. The Everglades are home to two National Parks, four National Wildlife Refuges, and one National Marine Sanctuary that bring almost 2 million visitors every year to experience this natural beauty located minutes from Miami Florida. The powerful environmental forces of sun, water, wind, and fire greatly affect the development and lifecycles of these
First and foremost, a main reason why the water supply to the everglades is having a bad effect, is because of all of the past draining. As stated in source 1 (The Florida Everglades) it says “From 1905-1910 , the settlers coverted the land… the Everglades were nearly drained entirely.” This shows that these new settlers wanted to get rid of the Everglades completely. As a result to their actions the Florida lost 50% of the wildlife’s population and diversity. This also included the subtropical wilderness of the Everglades. Which contained grassy marshes, hardwood hammocks, and mangrove forests. The draining of the Everglades was only one of the reasons why that the water supply on the park is bad.
Maintaining ecological diversity is necessary for the survival of a biological community. In the United States, American citizens are on the verge of irrevocably damaging one of the country's most unique and diverse treasures - the Florida Everglades. This national park is now the only remaining patch of a river that used to span 120 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Bay. Dikes and levees created by the Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1940's drained this river to reduce flooding and increase useable water for the development of the region. This major diversion of water lead to a trickle down effect causing the continual decline of the environmental state of the Everglades. Since then, debates over the
Due to constantly changing water levels, ecosystems like the Everglades can be very unpredictable places. Since the 1800s, people have tried to control the Everglades to prevent flooding (Blake). Large canals were built to send the water into the ocean and away from the Everglades. The land along the canals dried up and became more
The Everglades is a subtropical wilderness with hardwood hammocks, mangrove forests, along with grass marshes. The Florida Everglades used to be a home for many endangered species, that was until the sudden changes in the environment. The Everglades are facing water-related issues, such as its problems with the water supply. There are issues facing recent attempts to improve the water supply, and some history on the Everglades.
The Everglades, also known as the river of Grass, is one of South Florida’s most treasured areas. This wetland is home to many animals like alligators, crocodiles and the Florida panther. The everglades also acts as a giant filter. The Everglades provides the residents of South Florida with water, jobs and tourist attractions. Unfortunately, we are just now realizing the importance of this ecosystem.
The Everglades Restoration Plan is the policy to increase the flow of clean water to the Everglades, in an effort to protect the environment, provide for recreational activities, and supply South Florida with a clean supply of potable water. At a cost of more than $10.5 billion and with a 35+ year time-line, this is the largest hydrologic restoration project ever undertaken in the United States. The Federal Government approved Florida’s landmark water quality project that, once constructed, all parties agree will provide the clean water the Everglades need (Scott, 2013). The Everglades restoration has been hampered by decades of futile bickering over how to decide the most rational approach to restoring the flow of water to the Everglades.
Since the 1950s, Florida 's population has risen at an annual rate of approximately four percent. In the [past] 50 years, more than eight million acres of forest and wetland habitats (about 24 percent of the state) have been cleared to accommodate the expanding human population. In 1990, about 19 acres per hour of forest, wetland, and agricultural land [were] being converted for urban uses. Because of this growth, Florida’s ecosystems are now
Orlando Florida is known worldwide for its entertainment facilities, notably Walt Disney World, Universal Theme Park and other attractions. This paper reports on Orlando's natural environment and ecology, which doesn't get the attention and publicity that the theme parks do, but in the end these natural world places are more vital to the well being of the humans and wildlife in that area of Central Florida.
Hurricanes emerge from the tropics of the Atlantic Ocean close to the earth’s equator because it is attracted to warm water with a temperature of at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit (Today’s Science, October 2004). As the temperature increases, it changes the liquid water into water vapor that forms clouds of warm, moist air causing it rise.
Most hurricanes that hit the United States begin either in the Caribbean or the Atlantic. Many of the worst start as seedlings coming off the coast of Africa. Like all tropical cyclones, a hurricane needs the warm water of the tropics, which feeds a storm with energy, in order to form. Tropical cyclones are like giant engines that use warm, moist air as fuel. That is why they form only over warm ocean waters near the equator. The warm, moist air over the ocean rises upward from near the surface. Because this air moves up and away from the surface, there is less air left near the surface. Another way to say the same thing is that the warm air rises,
Hurricanes are big storms in the ocean that are large, swirling storms with strong winds. The water that is pushed onto land is a storm surge and it is said that they are the most dangerous part of the hurricanes that go on the land. A Category one, winds can get up to seventy-four miles per hour. Category two, winds can get up to ninety-six miles to one-hundred-ten miles per hour, a Category threes, winds can get up to one-hundred-eleven to one-hundred-twenty-nine miles per hour. Category four hurricanes can get up to one-hundred-thirty miles per hour, Category five hurricanes are the worst ones of all and the wind speeds can get up to one-hundred-fifty-seven miles per hour and then it can destroy anything in it’s path. The Eye of the
Hurricanes like to start off in warm ocean waters of at least 78F (26C) they thrive off of the heat content of the warm tropical and subtropical oceans. In order for hurricanes to start their rotation they have to be at leat 5% latitude from the equator, because the equators spin is zero and the more you increase moving toward the poles known as the Coriolis force the faster the spin. The damage hurricanes cause are toward trees, homes, buildings, flooding, and storm surges which increases along with the category f the hurricane. When come in contact of an hurricane you must know all evacuation routes, make sure your home is up to codes for withstanding hurricanes, and have storm shutters, tools, supplies, and a first aid kit.