"As long as it can sustain me, I'll continue doing it, ... I like working with animals. I like teaching people. And I love the Everglades, and gators are a main part of the Everglades."
(Greg Long)
Special INTEREST: climate change
In the future climate change could affect the Everglades. The Everglades have been referred to as "The most endangered national park in the nation." In the past several millions of years, Florida has been eroded, engulfed, and exposed with changes in levels of sea level. Approximately 2-3 miles of limestone were laid down 60 million years ago. Due to the changes in sea level erosion has granted Florida to have a slight dip south and west which allows water to flow across the land. Everglades National Park is already getting the effects of a warming climate. Sea level rise has brought noticeable changes that are already being seen on the landscape, and more will likely be seen in the years ahead. The park’s future is clearly presented by the present. Florida’s land mass advanced during times of high sea level, when deep oceans covered the peninsula and deposited sediments and sand onto an current mantle of timeworn limestone. Periodically, this increasing land mass derived from the ocean floor as rotating periods of glaciation transferred more of the planet’s water to ice on land and dropped global sea level considerably. while this warming trend occurred, south Florida slowly developed the humid, subtropical character it loves today. The purpose of the National Park Service is to sustain the natural and historical objects inside parks, leaving them undamaged for the luxury of present and future generations. Everglades National Park is the only subtropical wilderness area in North America where, by federal law, people must make no impact on the land and ecosystem. Even Though the influence of man is increasingly being felt on every acre of the Everglades in the form of human-caused climate change. Over the last 150 years, scientists have seen an increase in global temperature. higher global temperature is caused by human activities that increase greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. changes in some species’ normal life history patterns due to climate change have already been noticed within us national parks.As a result of warmer temperatures, scientists have seen a rise in global sea level and this has important consequences for south Florida. This accelerated rate of rise caused by human-caused warming threatens to outdo the ability of plants, animals, and processes of the Everglades, which are already being affected by sea level rise in many ways, to adapt. These coastal communities are home to many rare and endangered plants such as tropical orchids and herbs, a few are only found in south Florida. Sadly, these species’ special home is in danger because the habitat is changing partly due to sea level rise which is causing the salinization of groundwater and the soils above. It is unclear whether or not these species can tolerate the increased salinity that will come as sea level continues to rise due to climate change. One of the most drastic changes in landscape in Everglades National Park, and one that is complicated by sea level rise and inland effects, is seen in the Cape Sable area. The Cape is a big coastal landmass at the southwestern tip of Florida that was once known as an expansive interior freshwater marsh and freshwater lakes were associated with them.The Everglades and other south Florida ecosystems are presently stressed by the pressures of human development. Global warming will add more and increased stresses, like higher water levels, increased salinity, and warmer water temperatures. In the last 3,000 years the sea along Florida coasts are rising 6 to 10 times faster than the average rate for that area. By 2100 the sea level of Florida is likely to rise 20 inches above its 1990 level. From the 1870’s to 1970’s the wood stork population decreased by 95% due to draining in the Everglades. A warmer climate causes water at the top of the ocean to expand and adds large quantities of freshwater runoff from melting glaciers and ice sheets. since 1846 South Florida’s sea level has risen about 12 inches.It is still rising today, at a rate that is equivalent to 8-16 inches per century. If the current trend were to continue without any additional global warming, the sea along the southDuring the next 25 years, the sea is likely to rise 5 inches rather than 3. There is even a 5 percent chance that the sea will rise by as much as 36 inches. In addition to the rising seas, scientists expect global warming to lead to changes in temperature and precipitation that will affect plants and wildlife. Many people are concerned that global warming will affect rainfall, hurricanes, or the severe weather. Over the past 100 years Rainfall has indeed declined in the Keys and parts of south Florida while increasing in central Florida and the Florida Panhandle. If rainfall continues to decline in the future, water supplies for south Florida residents could be threatened. a minor rise in sea level can have a dramatic effect on local flooding, storm intensity, and habitability. Human history may be washed away if Climate change effects such as sea level rise and increased salinity can harm fragile archaeological sites around the Everglades.Centimeter by centimeter, inch by inch the Everglades are getting flooded. Mercury pollution is a growing problem in the Everglades. In 1989 the first High levels of mercury were first detected. Tests show that the park's raccoons and alligators also have high levels of this toxic metal in their systems. A Florida panther found dead in December 1989 had high levels of mercury that would be lethal to humans. Another result of a higher sea level, and destroyed marsh vegetation, is the effect severe weather would have on the state of Florida.With the rapid rise in sea level, marsh, which is a natural barrier for the shock of severe weather is being destroyed, leaving the area vulnerable to hurricanes and other severe weather.