Scientists Attribute Florida Mangrove Dieoff To Sea Level Rise

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"Twenty-four acres of dead, twisted, gray tree trunks rose from the muck, victims of a black mangrove die-off that began between 1988 and 1992 and continues today just south of the Myakka River.

“This is a very different area from 1988,” said mangrove expert Terry Tattar, a University of Massachusetts professor emeritus of microbiology. “The oxygen has been eliminated; the muck is toxic hydrogen-sulfide. It smells like the south side of Hades.”

Working with a $20,000 grant from the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, Tattar and geologist David Scott of Cape Coral have studied the site, which they call “the cemetery,” since 2001 and have concluded that the die-off, and others around the state, are the result of sea level rise.

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“Common sense tells us a storm event with high winds piled water up in the area,” Scott said. “The more significant is sea level rise. There is no debate that sea level is rising. The debate is what is the rate of change?” Scott has determined that sea level rise has caused the shoreline along McCall Sand Flat to erode almost 60 feet in some places."

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http://www.news-press.com/news/local_state/040113mangroves.html