Current evidence links oxygen as the key regulator of springs health, and observations show that oxygen levels in the Floridan Aquifer vary in time and space. Understanding these drivers and variation is needed for management actions protecting the Floridan Aquifer and restoring Florida’s iconic springs. To achieve this, the project explores the geological, chemical, and biological drivers of oxygen variation. Project team members test two hypotheses regarding dissolved oxygen variation in Florida:
- Dissolved oxygen concentration in the Upper Floridan Aquifer vary in space as a function of the chemical composition of the recharge in the springshed as well as depth below water table, vadose zone thickness, and confining bed thickness.
- Dissolved oxygen concentrations in springs vary over intermediate timescales with season and river intrusion events, and over longer time scales with flow variation and human land use change.
Funding: Florida Department of Environmental Protection, $677,000 from 2024-2027.
This project is led/coordinated by the Water Institute.
Project Participants
Project Lead
Matt Cohen, Water Institute, UF
Water Institute Affiliate Faculty/Staff
- James Jawitz, Soil, Water and Ecosystem Sciences, UF
- Jonathan Martin, Geological Sciences, UF
- Brent Christner, Microbiology and Cell Science, UF
- Darlene Velez, Water Institute, UF
Project Partners
- University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
- University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
- University of Florida Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences
Project Advisors
Alachua County, AquiferWatch, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Department of Health, Florida Geological Survey, Northwest Florida Water Management District, St Johns River Water Management District, Suwannee River Water Management District, Southwest Florida Water Management District, Volusia County
Expected Outcomes
Project team members will synthesize existing well and spring data, develop models to understand and predict that variation, and design citizen science sampling protocols to test their hypotheses through eight tasks across three phases.
Phase I
- Form an advisory committee and host a kickoff workshop
- Conduct preliminary spatial data synthesis of dissolved oxygen in Upper Floridan Aquifer wells and temporal analysis of dissolved oxygen patterns at spring vents
- Build a reduced complexity model of Upper Floridan Aquifer dissolved oxygen dynamics
Phase II
- Perform statistical analyses of dissolved oxygen spatial and temporal patterns and a time series analysis of dissolved oxygen variation with discharge and water quality covariates
- Further refine the model
- Develop a Quality Assurance Project Plan and perform field testing of dissolved oxygen monitoring at private wells to inform a citizen science initiative for groundwater dissolved oxygen monitoring
Phase III
- Host an end-of-project workshop
- Compile their findings from Phases I-III in a final report