Center for Science & Policy Applications for the Coastal Environment (C-SPACE)
Director: Christopher F. D’Elia
Deputy Director: James Gore
Introduction
Projects
On November 28, 2005, Scientists at USF St. Petersburg and Congressman C.W. “Bill” Young announced
Principle Investigators within each core are in charge of a specific research
the receipt of a $727,000 grant from the National Center for Environmental Research of the U.S. Environmental
project or has a support responsibility associated with the center.
Protection Agency on the waterfront at USF St. Petersburg. This funding has helped to establish the
1: Past and Present Water Quality in Florida Coastal Waters
Center for Science and Policy Applications for the Coastal Environment (C-SPACE).
Directed by Dr. Christopher D’Elia
Joseph M. Smoak and Melanie Riedinger-Whitmore
and Dr. James Gore,
the center consists of five “cores” or theme and support areas:
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(For more details,
please check out
Table 1
listed below)
Fate, Effects and Remediation of Pollutants
Society and Policy
Monitoring and Analytical Support Services
Data Management and Analysis
Administration and Outreach (Fig. 1).
Faculty from the College of Arts and Science’s Program of
Distinction in Environmental Science, Policy and Geography
(ESPG) will collaborate with colleagues from affiliated
institutions (USF College of Marine Science, U.S.G.S., Southeast
Fisheries Science Center of the National Marine Fisheries
Service/NOAA, and the State’s Florida Wildlife Research
Figure 1. Organizational chart for the Center
Institute) in an interdisciplinary effort that seeks from the
beginning to bring together natural and social scientists to understand the impacts of rapid development of
Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Karen A. White, regional chancellor for USF St.
Petersburg, credited Congressman Young for his
foresight in support of environmental research and
noted that USF President Judy Genshaft has
worked with him on a number of crucial
appropriations, including this program.
Congressman Young
Dr. White
Who’s Who
White said, “Our campus is committed to research
that is relevant to our region. Water quality and
supply is one of the most important issues to face
our region, our state and our country.”
St Petersburg Mayor Baker
Dr. D’Elia
Dr. Gore
The Center has an advisory board consisting of distinguished scientists and administrators:
Dr. Lisa Robbins
Former director
USGS Center for Coastal &
Watershed Studies
Dr. Peter Betzer
Dean of the School of
Marine Science at USF
Ms. Holly Greening
Senior Scientist
Tampa Bay Estuary Program
Dr. John Ogden,
Director of the Florida
Institute of Oceanography
Dr. Graham Tobin
Department of Geography
USF in Tampa
Dr. Marty Kelly
Southwest Florida Water
Management District
Dr. Brandon Jones
ex officio
EPA project officer
Dr. Christopher E’Dlia
ex officio
USFSP Regional Associate
Vice Chancellor
PI’s and Co-PI’s
Fate, Effects and
Remediation of
Pollutants
Project 1: Past and Present Water Quality
in Florida Coastal Waters
Joseph M. Smoak, PI
Melanie Riedinger-Whitmore
Ashanti Pyrtle
Project 2: Cyanobacteria Proliferation and
Eutrophication in Florida Lakes
Melanie Riedinger-Whitmore, PI
Thomas J. Whitmore
Project 3: Reactive Metal Particle
Emulsions for Removal of PCBs
Kathleen Carvalho-Knighton, PI
Cherie Geiger
Christian Claussen
Project 4: The Social and Environmental
Dimensions of Xeriscaping: A Pathway for
Ameliorating Coastal Environments
Rebecca Johns, PI
James Krest
Joseph Dorsey
Project 5: An Historical Perspective on the
Economic and Environmental Impacts of the
Phosphate Industry on the Tampa Bay
Region
Antoinette Criss, PI
Data Management,
Modeling & Analysis
Core
Project 6: Interfacing SWAT and
PHABSIM: A Potential GIS-based Water
Resource Management Tool
Barnali Dixon, PI
James Gore
Monitoring &
Analytical Support
Services
Project 7: Acquisition of Counters for
Gamma-emitting Radioisotopes
James Krest, PI
Joseph M. Smoak
Project 8: Guided Surface Vehicles
Eric Steimle, PI
Outreach
Project 9: Science Journalism
Mark Walters, PI
Tony Silvia
Society and Policy
Melanie Riedinger-Whitmore and Thomas J. Whitmore
Information on land-use change and anthropogenic impacts for these 6
lakes is available from the Southwest Florida Water Management District,
the St. John’s River Water Management District, the Florida Department
of Environmental Protection, and from regional lake managers in Florida.
The six proposed study lakes, as well as the 14 lakes for which we
already have cyanobacterial data, were the subject of previous SJRWMD,
FDEP, or SWFWMD funded projects which used paleolimnology to
document historical changes in water quality. The influence of land-use
changes on water quality has been documented for most of these
systems. Data on how cyanobacteria have responded to these water
quality changes is missing, though, for the six study lakes we propose to
investigate in this project.
Remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contaminated soils,
groundwater, and sediments has been a major problem in the United
States because of their large production volumes from the 1930s-1970s
and persistence of PCBs in the environment. The use of zero valent
metals (ZVMs) for the treatment of halogenated hydrocarbons in
wastewater and groundwater has been the focus of much recent
research. This study will take advantage of previous research
and examine the feasibility of utilizing emulsified Pd/Mg
bimetallic systems to enhance the dehalogenation of PCBs.
The proposed research will generate scientific data which can
be utilized in future field implementation.
4: The Social and Environmental Dimensions of Xeriscaping
Rebecca Johns, Jim Krest and Joseph Dorsey
Xeriscaping practices allow residents to transform
their yards from non-native, water-intensive
landscapes to landscapes that are dominated by
native, drought-resistant plants. Wider adoption of
xeriscaping can be an important component of
broader strategies to ameliorate coastal
environments in the rapidly urbanizing state of
Florida
5: An Historical Perspective on the Economic and Environmental Impacts of the Phosphate Industry
on the Tampa Bay Region
Table 1. List of projects
Project Title
2: Cyanobacteria Proliferation and Eutrophication in Florida Lakes
7. Analytical Instrumentation: Acquisition of Gamma-Ray Counters and Gas Chromatograph
James Krest, Joseph Smoak and Kathy Carvalho-Knighton
Objectives: (1) To analyze samples for project personnel (2) To adopt existing and/or
develop new methods for sample analysis (3) To provide training in analytical
methods, particularly new methods developed from Center efforts.
Kathy Carvalho-Knighton, Cherie Geiger, and Christian Claussen
USF President Genshaft
Academic Affairs, said this funding is the result of
the work of a number of faculty over the last nine
months. “This funding enables our researchers
and colleagues to devote collective energy and
investigation to critical environmental concerns
such as water quality and supply in coastal
Florida.”
Core Component
Objectives: 1. Determine a baseline for “pristine” ecosystem conditions. 2. Gain insight into anthropogenic
environmental impact. 3. Document occurrence of Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) over the last century.
Barnali Dixon and James A. Gore
The water management districts of Florida are
currently involved in the development of
methods and rules for the establishment and
implementation of minimum flows (MFs) for
priority water bodies. The law currently
requires that when establishing MFs, changes
and structural alterations to watersheds,
surface waters and aquifers shall also be
considered.
Objectives: (1) Integration of instream
biological/habitat models and soil/nonpoint
source water quality models as a single
practical and useful water resource
management tool, (2) Development of
regionally-specific habitat criteria and
biological data for fish and
macroinvertebrate fauna unique to Florida
river systems, (3) An understanding of
interactions between the AMO (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation) and regional river hydrographs and
potential impacts on water resource allocation and management decisions.
3: Reactive Metal Particle Emulsions for Removal of PCB’s
Mark Durand, regional Vice Chancellor for
Dr. Andrew Squires
Pinellas County Department of
Environmental Management
Areas in the drainage basins of the west Florida bays have been
extensively mined for phosphate rock. Uranium parents and daughter
products are enriched in phosphate material and disturbed during the
mining process. Radium enrichment above background level in the
middens and older sediments is anticipated and will be interpreted as
increased land use change through mining. The Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and δ18O
will be used to identify sites of groundwater influence as these sites
might be enriched with groundwater radium. Nitrogen and phosphorus
are anticipated to increase up core as a result of nutrient loading to coastal waters.
6. Interfacing SWAT and PHABSIM: A potential GIS-based Water Resource Management Tool
Antoinette Criss and James Krest
Group photo after announcing the EPA’s grant, on Nov. 28, 2005
While there are a variety of sources on the impact of the phosphate
industry in Florida, there is not a recent survey of both economic and
environmental impacts. In addition, the research does not appear to be
specifically geared towards the impacts on the Tampa Bay region. The
objective of the present research is to fill in these gaps. In so doing, a
clearer picture of current conditions, and future trends, should emerge.
One significant industry to investigate is the phosphate industry. This
project will determine the significance of the phosphate industry to the
Tampa Bay region by analyzing the value of phosphate production, trade
in phosphate and related products, and the impact on regional
employment and wages in phosphate and related industries with respect
to attendant costs of environmental regulation, mitigation and
remediation.
8. Guided Surface Vehicles
Eric Steimle
Guided Surface Vehicles (GSV’s) are finding a niche as
mobile instrument platforms. They are versatile,
inexpensive and easily configurable. USF-SP’s GSV
(dubbed “Rocky”) is outfitted with a wireless computer
interface that allows instrumentation to be deployed and
controlled by a remote user or autonomously by the
vehicle. Rocky is currently 72” long and 38” wide, has a
250 pound payload capacity and can travel at speeds up
to 4 knots. Rocky is battery powered, utilizing a twin
screw design for steering, making it highly
maneuverable.
9. Science and Journalism
Mark Walters and Tony Silvia
Public policy is, in the end, often politically determined. As
such, the views, sentiments and awareness of the general
public about environmental issues often play a crucial role in
the formulation and implementation of conservation policy.
Furthermore, since much of the information the public
receives on watershed and other scientific issues comes
from the media, journalists also play a critical, if indirect, role
in the formulation of policy.
Expected results
(1) Insight for managing water resources by understanding historical anthropogenic activities that have impacted the
environment such as terrestrial runoff, water quality, and local land-based environmental modifications;
(2) Assessment of land-use changes and other anthropogenic influences on the establishment of cyanobacterial populations,
and determination of the water quality parameters which promote cyanobacterial persistence;
(3) Collection of scientific data essential for implementation in future PCB remediation field projects;
(4) Analysis of the socioeconomic and cultural factors that underlie contemporary patterns of lawn management and quantitative
evaluation of the environmental benefits that could be realized through xeriscaping within the study area;
(5) Analysis of the environmental and economic impacts of the phosphate industry in the Tampa Bay area;
(6) Development of a GIS-based integrated tool to determine the linkages among the soils, land use, watershed hydrology, nonpoint source pollution, minimum flows and health of an aquatic habitat;
(7) Establishment of analytical core support,
(8) Deployment of a highly sophisticated Guided Surface Vehicle in monitoring of shallow water ecosystems;
(9) Examining and facilitating the relationship between environmental science and journalism.