Quote:
Originally Posted by Smalls
You aren't accounting for the fact that the marsh, on average, is shallower than the lake. I have taken measurements of gulf strength water (35 ppt) behind the weirs, but the salinity on the lake side was around 24 ppt.
Less water, higher salt content. Include evaporation in that, and the salt content in the marsh is higher than that of the lake. Also, during low water events, soil salinity can become hypersaline, and there are very few plants on the earth that can survive those conditions.
|
Right. But all the salt originates from the Gulf. If management of control structures could ensure that more salt flowed out of the marsh over time than flowed back in from the lake (and the Gulf), then the salinity of the marsh would gradually decrease.
If the salinity in the lake were never above 10 ppt, the weirs could be opened more days per year and still attain lower salinity over time.