Walls Springs | Anderson Park by Martha Rhine

We learned about karst topography by taking a trip to Walls Springs Park. We took a walk to view the spring head, the water was very clear. The area used to be a swimming spot and spa years ago, but was closed to swimming to protect the habitat. Grasses and plants grow underwater in the crystal clear water and many fish swim among them for cover and food. Birds like herons swim overhead looking for fish to eat.

Out in the waters of the estuary there are many mangroves along the shoreline and crabs and fish swim among them. Birds wade around in the shallow water and take cover among the mangroves.

After we left Walls Springs we visited Anderson Park where we took a look at Knights Sinkhole. It is a deep sinkhole that is classified as a wet sink, meaning that is broke the water table. Diving deep into the hole and across, through underwater caves, you can emerge on the other side in Tarpon Lake.

Karst Topography

By,

Ken Miller

            Karst was born in, oh, that doesn’t matter, what really matters is that everything being written here is based on scientific facts and some of this writers imagination. This story begins at wall springs, actually, really begins at the Aquifer. Unbelievable that during my long existence I don’t ever remember knowing about an aquifer or seeing one up front and personal. So on that go see the Aquifer at Wall springs for an out of body experience.

            While at wall springs we talked about how Karst had a lot to do with dissolving rock. Also how it impacts the creation of sink holes, dry valley, caves, and underground streams. Acid H2O+ limestone = Dissolved rock (aka Karst!). Don’t forget to see the movie. Karst, the movie http://watersheds.org/earth/karstmovie.htm.

            Confined or unconfined that is my question? Moves quickly, pressure/not under pressure. The Florida aquifer is both, confined and unconfined. Learned about springs, some are clear while others are darker colors. More than 700 springs in Florida. Off shore springs have mostly grazing food web.

            Then the sink hole at Anderson Park, Huge, sink holes are depressions formed by dissolution of the underlying limestone. There are three types of sinks, wet, dry, and solution. Wall springs, aquifer and unbelievable beauty as you walk across the boardwalks. Anderson Park, don’t forget to see the sink hole. Learn More, Go see, fun, adventures.

Kenneth R. Miller

Field Biology

Sawgrass Lake Blog

October 20, 2016

The Sawgrass Lake Experience

            Not so long ago, under sunny skies, during a comfortable, but somewhat breezy day, I experienced fascination of a different kind. I found knowledge, like ponds are smaller than 10 acres while lakes are larger. Then it got a lot harder, Florida lakes are usually shallow, 7-20 feet deep, but lakes made by sinkholes are very deep. There’s year round evaporation in Florida, seasonal, variation in water level due to rain fall.

            Now back to sawgrass lake memories. We journeyed deep into the middle of the park walking over brittle wooden bridges. As I looked down to the floor of the ecosystem which was just yards away, I saw signs of wetland plants. I knew then that the lake I have been searching for was near. As we approached the overlook of the lake, we put up camp and got into the learning mode. While at camp observation we learned about lake characterizations, including; Oligotrophic- high dissolved oxygen at bottom, low levels of diversity, and low levels of nutrients. Mesotrophic- Aquatic vegetation, high amounts of a variety of organisms, and plenty of places to hide. Eutrophic- high levels of nutrients and organic sediments, Polluted, diversity goes down.

            With alligator baring down on are location, miraculously, we continued learning about the lake ecosystem, these ecosystems can be divided up into 3 main zones. The first is the shore line- greatest diversity, forms a marsh and dominated by grass like plants. There are emergent plants which offer a place to hide and offers food. Insect lava, fish, filter feeders, lake muscle and clams, birds, amphibians and reptiles. These creatures were all around us and I believe that some in are party were really scared. Secondly, Euphotic- open water, no emergent plants. If water is clear, submerged plants may exist in this zone do to access to light. Low density of fish, little food or shelter, and Phytoplankton and Zooplankton are common. Benthic- dark zone, bottom dead zone; detrital food web, high decomposition, stable temperature, and lots of catfish and chub suckers.  Threats to these ecosystems would be pollution from run-off/ lead, and climate change.

            Finally after completing are notes we packed up the camp and headed back through the dangers we dealt with at the beginning of are journey. We did see birds, one was a blond shouldered hawk I believe. Our guide disappeared so  I had to make the bird call on my own.

Wall Springs/Anderson Park

Wall Springs is a natural spring that dumps into the salt water creating an estuary then reaching the Gulf of Mexico. In 1927 it was also used as a spa for healing and treatments for health. This spring pours 2917 gallons of water a min. or 4.2 million gallons per day in brackish water and then to the Gulf of Mexico. There was Blue gill fish and turtles and Mullet fish that we saw and they can all live in fresh or salt water. Anderson Park was saw the sink hole which is a "wet sink" the depths reach groundwater. It's also connected to Lake Tarpon. I had fun that day and then lost the class the went right by me and a few class mates.

Madison Bommelaere
 10/21/2016



                                                  Wall Springs and Anderson park       
                  On Friday October, 21st our class went to visit Wall Springs and Anderson park after. Wall spring is a very interesting park located off of Alt 19 in Palm Harbor, but there's no signs or anything and its very easy to miss. Wall Springs is home to a natural spring that is super clear at 0% salinity and houses an array of fish, turtles and grasses. The spring dumps out into salt water creating an estuary then ultimately reaching the Gulf Of Mexico.In 1927 Wall Springs used to be a health spa as the family's revenue were people can come swim, relax and get health treatments. The spring puts out anywhere from 0-7405 gallons of water per minute, but the average for wall springs 2917 gallons a minute or 4.2million gallons a day.
We saw some fresh water fish like the Blue Gill and a turtle along with mullet fish that can live in either fresh or salt water which were in both bodies of water the spring and brackish estuary. Its a care free life for the mullet in the spring because there aren't the same predators like in the ocean. The main thing the mullet need to worry about in the spring are hawks and other large fish praying birds because of the clear shallow water. naturally along the estuary were tons of mangroves and the soil of the bottom was soft and mucky.
                     At Anderson Park we visited a sink hole, once we actually found it. Its a fairly large "Wet sink" because its depths reach the ground water. The sink hole is some how connected to lake tarpon on one side and the gulf on the other through underwater tunnels; although the connection doesn't transfer salt water in to lake tarpon which relies on its fresh water because human efforts have plugged up the hole on that side to maintain the fresh water.

Wall Springs Park

October 21st 2016

Wall Springs Park is one of more than 700 springs that can be found in Florida. Wall Springs is an offshore spring, just offshore of the Gulf of Mexico. When we visited the spring the climate was warm, but dry and breezy. The great thing about a spring is that the water comes out with zero salinity and its pH levels are neutral so this natural aquifer can provide drinking water for human life. The spring can produce 4.2 million gallons of water in just a day. The spring water at wall Springs Park meets with the gulf of mexico, forming an estuary at the park. In the estuary, you can find mangroves (I notice there were a lot of red mangroves in particular) and a detrital food web (Horseshoe crabs, blue grabs). In the spring area of the park I noticed animals that were grazing (Heron, and some larger fish).  

Anderson park and wall springs

Wall springs state park was by far my favorite,the entire park was just so beautiful. The boardwalk all around gave it a nice touch along through out the park. It brought peaceful vibes to my morning,along with  the weather being a little bit chilly outside. This park is very family oriented and dog friendly. I loved that there was FREE parking as well.In the water I saw mullets jumping out of the water at random times, along with seeing one type of crab hiding in the grass/roots/branches. Karst is geological the formations are shaped by the dissolving rocks. Which Florida is always dissolving rocks due the loads of rainfall we get.At Anderson park i was amazed on the size of the wet sinkhole, it was huge it but i don't think the park will underground and time soon. it  also was doggy friendly it had even its own doggy park!

Wall Springs - Anderson Park 10/21/2016

Location: Wall Springs/Anderson Park

Date: 10/21/2016

Weather: 78º - 82º and breezy

This week we visited Wall Springs to look at an aquifer and then moved on to Anderson Park to see a sinkhole. 

At Wall Springs I was astounded to see just how clear the water that flowed up from the aquifer was and the beautiful blue/green it appeared as it flowed over the submerged vegetation. Aquifers are more constant in water temperature and nutrients than other bodies of water, support a mostly grazing food web, and are fairly alkaline due to limestone break down. (The Ogalala Aquifer in the Great Plains is the largest in the U.S.)

As we walked we came across a variety of fish species swimming in schools through the waters of the aquifer. We also encountered a Brazilian Pepper Tree, which is an invasive species; it secretes a chemical that stops the growth of other plant species and is a Hydra weed.

A confined aquifer is trapped in an area because it is under pressure, while unconfined aquifers are free of pressure so they can flow easily. Both types of aquifers can be found in Florida.

At Anderson Park we were able to get a closer look at a sinkhole. Sinkhole locations are determined by substrate and the over-burden on limestone. Knight’s Sinkhole at Lake Tarpon is connected to the groundwater, so there is little fluctuation of water level and is up to 200 feet deep.

Wall Springs park/ Anderson Park
Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs, FL
10/21/16

     During this trip we talked about natural springs that occur in Florida. The spring that we saw was Wall Springs where anywhere from 0 to 7,405 gallons can be dumped into the system per minute. This all depends on the amount of rainfall that has occurred in the area. Karst topography is a system of complex underground network. Caves, sinks, springs all occur as a result of karst topography. Carbon dioxide in the environment, when in water, dissolves making the water more acidic. The acidic water causes the limestone to dissolved in certain places leaving spaces in the rocks. This creates the network of caves underground.
     The trip at Wall Springs park was a lot of fun and very interesting because at the entrance there was a spring fed by an aquifer and not even 100 feet away there was a saltwater environment that the fresh water fed into. This mix created a brackish water environment where mangroves and salt water fish inhabited.
     Along our walk through the park we observed all types of mangroves and several different types of fish. on the boardwalk we stooped to look at a Brazillian Pepper plant that is an invasive species and is threatening many of Florida's ecosystems. Brazillian Pepper grows rapidly, taking over habitats quickly and pushing out native plant species.

     Anderson park was a quick visit since we were short on time and we just looked at the sink hole that happened there many years ago. We talked about how the sink hole was connected to both Lake Tarpon and to the Gulf. This was problomatic because the Gulf being saltwater would then disrupt the freshwater ecosystem of the lake. Engineers then blocked off the sinkhole from the lake and also built a small barrier lake just in case some of the water continued to leak into the lake. The sinkhole next to Lake Tarpon goes about 200 feet down and is said to have very good visibility throughout the dive.

The spring dumping freshwater into a small pond that then feeds into a saltwater ecosystem. 

Great Blue Heron

Wall Springs Park 

Wall Springs Park