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Hurricane Ian Damage
Hurricane Ian caused significant damage when it made landfall in Southwest Florida on September 28th 2022. Several of the pilings where RECON sensors are located were completely lost and others had extensive damage. We also experienced nearly four feet of flooding from the storm surge on the first floor of the Marine Laboratory where the RECON workshop is located, causing us to loose many of the tools and specialty equipment needed to maintain RECON. We are working with the compo...
Read moreThe River, Estuary and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) is a network of water quality sensors deployed throughout the Caloosahatchee river and estuary to provide real-time, water quality data to scientists, policy makers, and the general public.
The extensive watersheds of the Caloosahatchee (1,400 square miles) and Lake Okeechobee (4,400 square miles) each contribute water that flows into the Caloosahatchee estuary and the Gulf of Mexico. Water quality is affected by both Lake Okeechobee discharges and runoff from the Caloosahatchee watershed. Over time, these watersheds have changed from low-nutrient loading marshes and wetlands to high loading urban and agricultural land uses. Nutrients increase turbidity and decrease concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO). In addition, excess nutrients fuel nuisance algal blooms. Losses of low-nutrient adapted communities, such as seagrasses have contributed to changes in fish, crustacean and marine mammal communities.
