Climate History: The Bioregion of South Florida

For the purpose of this paper, I would like to focus on the region of South Florida, due to the magnitude of Florida. The flora and fauna change drastically in the area I live in, making the ecosystem very unique to the environment. Most of Florida, in the mid and northern region, is labeled as subtropical. However, in my bioregion it is labeled as tropical with a distinct increase of heat and humidity (Fuson & Norell, 2015). The tropical area does not experience frost in any season. This area is the only part of the entire United Stated with a tropical climate. The typical cut-off for my bioregion is south of Lake Okeechobee. I live on the coast where the most tropical storm impacts have occurred. (Image from Wikipedia)

Florida is a very low flat land, only about 100 feet above sea level (Fuson & Norell, 2015). This makes South Florida a target for the worst possible environmental heat related disasters. The Earth naturally intercepts solar radiation to prevent the areas from over-heating. However, the anthropogenic influences has decreased the ability to prevent shortwave radiation damage, or the suns strong heat emitted on the planet (Smith & Smith, 2009). Not only is the region low, it also consists of prominently sandy, impermeable soil which sits on top of limestone. Thus the low elevation and water retaining soils cause flooding which occur mostly during the summer season.

It is known, “air temperature decreases with altitude,” and causes atmospheric pressure increase in the Southern Hemisphere (Smith & Smith, 2009).As shown in Elements of Ecology, Figure 2.8 draws the line of equal temperature around the world in January and July (Smith & Smith). The January Isotherms in Florida stay between 16 and 21 degrees Celsius. In the month of July the temperature increases to 27 degrees Celsius. The temperature stays fairly high in comparison to other regions above and below the equator. The lower the altitude the higher the temperatures. This is due to the air molecules being denser at sea level which causes the molecules to trap heat, restricting flow. With the high temperature in the summer, South Florida receives very heavy rainfall. From May to August, tornadoes, wind and hail have shown to be the most severe.

(NOAA)

Florida experiences a wet season and a dry season, as most other regions. However, it is either very dry with little rainfall or experiences very high precipitation causing flooding. Precipitation has a very regular global pattern which is predictable throughout the year. The wet season typically goes through three phases “Late May through early July (“stormiest” part of the season), early July through mid-August (hotter with dry periods), late August through mid-October (higher rainfall variability due to potential tropical systems and early-fall cold fronts) ,” (NWS, 2015).

In my bioregion we also have a “Hurricane Season” which is about six months long from June to November (Fuson & Norell, 2015). September is the month during which tropical cyclones are most likely to occur, as indicated in the data chart by NOAA. Some hurricanes travel up the coast line, others go right through the center. Major cities like Miami have suffered greatly from hurricanes, mainly due to flooding. Another impact is from the strong winds of hurricanes , travelling 25mph to 155mph (NWS, 2015). It is estimated that every 7.5 years every area of Florida will be affected by a hurricane.

Not only does the ocean contribute to heavy rainfall, so does the massive Lake Okeechobee sitting at the top of the bioregion of South Florida. Moreover, with the phenomenon of El Nino, abnormally warm waters and upwelling across the tropical Pacific, some annual precipitation increases more (Smith & Smith, 2009). The data below indicates years of heavy rainfall followed along by a slowly declining drought. Also, in Figure 2.17 (Smith & Smith, 2009), the data table shows my bioregion in the annual world precipitation ranging from “100-200 centimeters.” Smith also categorizes Florida as an intertropical convergence zone, experiencing high precipitation.

Rainfall is not always something to expect in South Florida. Like mentioned before, fluctuations of heavy rainfall lead to drought. This type of pattern alters plant communities resulting in disruption of plant-growth (Richardson, 2008). It is also evident as I walk in certain natural areas, I notice the influx of dry shrubs located inland, further from watersheds. This effect along with global warming patterns greatly affects organisms which live in microclimate conditions (Smith & Smith, 2009). For example, shaded plants which thrive in cooler temperature may die off from over exposure to sunlight radiation. In turn, the fauna which lives off of the specific flora may face starvation. If an animal does not have access to plant foods, then the plant dies as well. The mutualistic relationship is the key to biological survival and ecosystem health.

In conclusion, data showed that the start of the “Wet Season” starts in May and “Dry Season” starts in October. The average Wet Season lasts roughly 6 months which contribute to the total annual rainfall. The “Dry Season” is less humid, although temperatures are still high. The “Wet Season” delivers hurricanes and other phenomena to the state, however it is not as drastic as other areas in the world. Overall, the effects of global patterns are holistic. For example, the effects of increased temperature in the ocean of the southern region, leads to carried condensation to the north. The effects of human caused global warming is another repercussion which may be triggering El Nino. It is important to remember that one climatic change in one part of the world, will lead to an effect in every area.

References

Fuson RH, Norell RJ. 2015 Dec. Florida: The Sunshine State. Brittanica; [accessed 2016 Jan

10]. http://www.britannica.com/place/Florida

NWS. 2015 Dec. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. NOAA; [accessed 2016 Jan 10]. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/mfl/news/RainySeasonOutlookSummary2015.pdf

Richardson C. 2008. The Everglades Experiments. Lessons for Ecosystem Restoration 1:702.

http://www.springer.com/us/book/9780387987965

Smith TM, Smith RL. 2009. Elements of Ecology. Boston: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.

Subtropical Climate. Wikipedia; [accessed 2016 Jan 10]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humid_subtropical_climate