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| Figure 1. Landsat satellite image of Tampa Bay indicating the two initial field sites being intensively studied near the Alafia River and the Terra Ceia Area. |
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Introduction
Tampa Bay and its environs have experienced phenomenal urban growth and significant changes in land cover and land-use practices over the past 50 years. This trend is expected to continue, with the impact of human activity broadening geographically and intensifying throughout the region.
One of the immediate impacts of urban growth is the creation of additional impervious surfaces, which in turn, generate increased urban runoff that contributes to higher levels of nutrient loading in water bodies throughout the area.
To better understand these and other anthropogenic affects on the ecology of the natural environment of the region, this component of the Tampa Bay Pilot Study is taking a broad basin-wide view. This regional view is intended to provide geographic and temporal context for the smaller intensely studied sample field site locations within the estuarine environment (Fig. 1).
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