UTILITY OF REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES IN UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMNICS OF INTERACTION BETWEEN SURFACE AND GROUND WATER: FIELD EXPERIENCE IN THE COASTAL ZONE OF NW FLORIDA*

摘要

The Florida Geological Survey acquired aerial and space based thermal images for a series of sites along Florida’s Big Bend Coast in May of 2002 and February 2003. Our aim was to identify areas of ground water discharge based upon surface water thermal differences stemming from variations between ground water discharge and ambient surface water. All data products were georeferenced to a common spatial projection for analysis using Geographic Information System software. Bathymetric data and sonar imagery enabled ground truth identification of submerged karst features at targets identified within the remote sensing data sets. Ground truth evaluation consisted of placing CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) probes and collecting water quality samples within the vents of submerged karst features. Several submarine springs were positively identified at near shore coastal sites, and a better understanding was gained of the complexity of systems further offshore as a result of this study.