Members of the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science at Florida State U, together with marine personnel from the Florida Institute of Oceanography, spent five days surveying the St. George Sound, Apalachicola Bay, St. Joseph Bay and Apalachicola River areas from June 8 through June 12.
The principal objective was to study outflows from the Apalachicola River system, collecting data on the physical and chemical properties of waters merging with the open Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, the research team was interested in documenting the background conditions in these areas prior to any potential contamination from the ongoing BP oil spill, which continues to spread west from Pensacola with prevailing currents.
Water and sediment samples were collected at 58 stations dispersed across the target area, comprising a complete hydrologic section, something that has not previously been achieved in this area of the Gulf.
FSU researchers Nico Wienders and Stephanie White were the chief scientists for the expedition. Both supervised the collecting and categorizing of the water and sediment samples.
Wienders made clear that, while some conclusions can be drawn from observations made during the cruise itself, there is still a great deal of research to be done.
“We won’t have a complete picture until the water and sediment data are analyzed by the chemists and biologists who work with us,” Wienders said. “In the meantime, this is a very good start. This is new. It hasn’t been done here.”
The original goal was to sample a total of 75 locations. Delays in the arrival of the research vessel in Carrabelle, however, and an unexpected illness on-board that required the team to put in at Port St. Joe, limited the total number of stations (places where data is collected according to a pre-arranged plan). Wienders, however, said he regarded the operation overall as a success.
“Given the loss of a whole day, due to circumstances that were beyond our control, we still managed 58 out of 75 proposed stations,” Wienders said. “That’s not bad.”
While Wienders and White are both employed at FSU, the remaining researchers are graduate students, many learning about and handling the data-collecting instruments for the first time.
“The purpose of this cruise is educational,” said Wienders. “Most of these students haven’t done this kind of work before. Many have never been to sea. I was very impressed at how hard they worked and how well they did.”
The quality of outflows from the river system into the Gulf affects the overall ecology of the region, including the propagation of endemic species such as oysters, small fish and coastal vegetation.
While no one can predict at this juncture the impact that the oil spill may have on the areas being studied, or how continued usurpation of river resources by states north of Florida will have on local water systems in terms of salinity, density and residence times, the data collected on this cruise should help shed some light on the question of how (and by what means) to proceed from here toward, hopefully, a decent future for the northern Gulf Coast, its people and its wildlife.