Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN)

The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated network of real-time water-level monitoring, ground elevation modeling, and water-surface modeling that provides scientists and managers with current (1999-present), on-line water-depth information for the entire freshwater portion of the Greater Everglades. Presented on a 400-square-meter grid spacing, EDEN offers a consistent and documented dataset that can be used by scientists and managers to:1) guide large-scale field operations, 2) integrate hydrologic and ecological responses, and 3) support biological and ecological assessments that measure ecosystem responses to the implementation of the comprehensive Everglades Restoration plan (CERP) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1999.

Research has shown that relatively high-resolution data are needed to explicitly represent variations in the Everglades topography and vegetation that are important for landscape analysis and modeling. The EDEN project will provide a better representation of water depths if elevation variation within each 400-meter grid cell can be taken into account. The EDEN network provides a framework to integrate data collected by other agencies in a common quality-assured database. In addition to real-time network, collaboration among agencies will provide the EDEN project with valuable historic vegetation and water-depth data. This is the first time these data have been compiled and analyzed as a collective set.