Development and evaluation of a mathematical model for surface-water flow within the Shark River Slough of the Florida Everglades

Restoration and management of wetlands rely on a quantitatively based understanding of surface-water flow over emergent vegetation. In the work reported here, we develop a two-dimensional diffusion model for surface-water movement, and we test this model against hydrologic data collected from the Shark River Slough of the Florida Everglades. The equations that govern the model are derived under the assumption that a power-law relationship quantifies the dependence of flow velocity on water depth. We simplify the model formulation by assuming uniform rates of evaporation. a constant ground-surface slope, and spatially homogeneous vegetative cover. Using flow parameters estimated from calibration, the model accurately predicts the spatial and temporal changes in surface-water levels measured over a 27 km long transect of Shark River Slough. The results of this research suggest that good predictions of wetland-flow dynamics at large scales can be obtained with relatively simple numerical models and without extensive characterization of the variability in wetland properties. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.