Coastal Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN)

The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) has provided principal investigators and other water-resources managers with quality-assured water levels for about 250 stations for the period January 1, 1990 to the present for the freshwater portion of the Everglades. In addition, EDEN provides ground elevation and water-level data on a 400-meter grid. Daily water-surfaces are generated and posted on the web and a set of applications (EDENapps) are provided that allow users to interrogate the water-surfaces and water-depths for locations of particular interest to a user. A similar portal for quality assured data and derived products is needed for the coastal areas.

The principal focus of “Coastal EDEN” will be the oligihaline/mesohaline zone in the Southern Everglades. These coastal areas, or specifically the Coastal Oligohaline Wetlands Zone (sometimes referred to as “the coastal fringe” or the “zone of change”), are critical in evaluating the hydrologic and ecological response to modifications of the water delivery system for restoration and future climate change. Hydrologic changes, either from flow alterations or climate change, will first be manifested along the coastal fringe. These areas experience tidal backwater conditions and increases in flow and/or sea-level rise may move this area inland. Coastal areas will probably exhibit larger relative changes in hydroperiods as compared to inland areas.

Coastal EDEN allows users to display current hydrologic and salinity data for USGS-operated coastal stations on maps of coastal south Florida. Water level, salinity, and temperature data can be displayed with color codes for ranges of values for current real-time conditions, 7-day average conditions, and 7-day change conditions which compares the current 7 days with the previous 7 days.