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Mariposa Key with seagrass beds
(dark patches) in foreground |
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Estuaries are the critical interface between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Gulf estuaries encompass approximately 30,000 square kilometers. (42% of the total estuarine surface area of the United States excluding Alaska). The Gulf of Mexico drainage area encompasses 55% of the total area of the conterminous United States. Furthermore, the Gulf of Mexico receives an average of 27,473 cubic meters per sec. of freshwater inflow daily, which is more than 50% of the daily average for the continental United States According to projections by the United States Department of Commerce, the gulf’s total population will increase by 144% between 1960 and 2010. This dramatic population growth will have profound impacts on the estuarine watersheds, combined with industrial and agricultural discharges, and will place more demands on existing natural resources.
Many of the Nation’s coastal estuaries have been environmentally stressed since the turn of the 20th century and will continue to be impacted in the future. Tampa Bay, one of the Gulf of Mexico’s largest estuaries, exemplifies the threats that our estuaries have faced. More than 2 million people live in the Tampa Bay watershed, and the population continues to grow. Demand for freshwater resources, conversion of undeveloped areas to residential and industrial uses, increases in storm water runoff, and increased air pollution from urban and industrial sources are some of the known human activities that impact the Tampa Bay estuary. Beginning in 2001, anthropogenic modifications that may have impact on Tampa Bay include laying of an underwater gas pipe line, construction of a major desalinization plant, and increased freshwater withdrawal from three major tributaries to the bay.
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