1. Rainfall Intensity & Accumulation
2. Salinity Dynamics: Before, During, and After Flooding
Primary scientific focus: dilution rate, minimum depression, and tidal recovery pulses.
3. Freshwater Tributary Discharge (USGS NWIS)
Streamflow and canal discharges (cfs) entering Indian River Lagoon & St. Lucie Estuary.
4. Dissolved Oxygen & Hypoxia (mg/L)
Dashed red line = severe hypoxia (<2 mg/L); orange line = biological stress (<4 mg/L).
5. Turbidity & Suspended Solids Runoff (NTU)
Spikes indicate sediment delivery, resuspension, and stormwater plume passage.
6. Carbonate Chemistry: pH & Respiration Pulse
Drops indicate watershed organic acid runoff and high microbial respiration.
7. Supporting Meteorology: Wind Gust & Water Temp
Wind forcing (mph) driving water column mixing and setup/setdown.
8. Coastal Boundary Conditions: Water Level & Storm Surge (NOAA CO-OPS)
Elevated coastal storm surge (+2.01 ft at Trident Pier) created a hydraulic dam effect at ocean inlets, impeding gravity drainage of stormwater from the Indian River Lagoon into the Atlantic Ocean.
Spatial Salinity Response Heatmap (North to South Geographic Ordering)
Visualizes the spatial and temporal evolution of the freshwater flood plume across the Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie Estuary. Stations are ordered from North (top) to South (bottom) using exact geographic coordinates. Observations are displayed without interpolation, preserving data gaps.
Scientific Observations from the Spatial Salinity Heatmap
Key Hydrologic Findings:
- North-to-South Gradient: Pre-event baseline salinity ranged from 29.4 PSU at Sebastian (IRL-SB) to 0.25 PSU in the upper South Fork (SLE-SF2).
- Rapid Estuarine Flush: The St. Lucie Estuary (SLE-SF and SLE-ME) responded with intense speed, plunging below 0.1 PSU within 6 to 12 hours of peak precipitation.
- Lagged Coastal Dilution: Fort Pierce (IRL-FP) dropped from 29.2 PSU to a historic minimum of 0.02 PSU after 72 hours of persistent watershed delivery through urban and agricultural canal networks.
- Northern Attenuation: Sebastian (IRL-SB) dropped 21.4 PSU (to 8.05 PSU) with a 78-hour lag driven by massive discharges from the St. Sebastian River.
Geographic Coordinates (North to South):
- IRL-TS: 28.5985°N (Titusville)
- IRL-BR: 28.4549°N (Banana River)
- IRL-MB: 27.9751°N (Melbourne Beach)
- IRL-SB: 27.8391°N (Sebastian)
- IRL-VB: 27.5901°N (Vero Beach)
- IRL-LP: 27.5348°N (Link Port)
- IRL-FP: 27.4756°N (Fort Pierce)
- SLE-ME: 27.2089°N (Middle Estuary)
- SLE-SF: 27.1878°N (South Fork)
- SLE-SF2: 27.1142°N (South Fork 2)
Dynamic Station-Specific Hydrologic Response Calculator
Dynamic calculation of event rainfall, maximum intensity, baseline salinity, post-event minimum salinity, absolute/percent salinity crash, peak timing, and response lag time. Click on any row to drill down into the station profile.
Export Calculated Summary as CSV
Environmental Exposure-Duration Analysis (Ecological Stress & Hypoxia)
Quantifies total exposure hours and the longest continuous run below user-defined salinity and dissolved oxygen stress thresholds. Exposure is calculated strictly from observation timestamps without bridging data gaps (>1.5 hr gap resets continuous run). Monitoring coverage (%) is reported to assess data completeness:
Export Exposure-Duration Table as CSV
Interactive Environmental Response Sequence Timeline
Visualizes the station-specific chronological sequence of peak rainfall intensity, peak tributary streamflow, salinity nadir, and dissolved oxygen depression, along with low-salinity and hypoxia exposure duration bands. Synchronized with the dashboard time window.
Methodological Note: Markers denote empirical observation times at fixed sensor stations. While upstream rainfall physically drives watershed loading, observed lag intervals reflect multi-basin routing, tidal exchange, and wind-driven setup rather than uniform one-dimensional travel times.
Event Measured Rainfall by Station (Standardized Metrics)
Hover over bars to inspect station-specific NOAA Atlas 14 recurrence intervals and Milton 2024 comparisons.
Salinity Crash Magnitude: Baseline vs Minimum Observed
Standardized Historic Storm Precipitation Comparison (Peak Station Measurements)
Standardized cross-storm comparison of peak rainfall depths recorded at individual monitoring stations across modern Florida storm history. Each benchmark clearly specifies observation duration, station location, and measurement units to prevent distortions from changing network station counts:
NOAA Atlas 14 Precipitation Frequency Comparison (Regional Return Periods)
Precipitation frequency estimates from NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 (Florida). Benchmarks the historic November 1–3, 2026 rainfall totals against 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year recurrence intervals:
Recovery Analysis Controls & Baseline Configuration
Evaluation begins after parameter extreme or cutoff date, whichever is later.
24 hrs spans 2 full semi-diurnal tidal cycles to prevent flood-tide masking.
% of post-return records that must remain within baseline tolerance.
Station Recovery Trajectory & Baseline Tolerance Window
Station-by-Station Recovery Status & Trajectory Metrics
Dynamic evaluation of post-storm return toward pre-event baseline conditions. Recovery begins after parameter extreme or cutoff date (Nov 4), separating storm response from recovery. Criteria require >=80% post-return observations inside tolerance and >=24 consecutive hours (2 semi-diurnal tidal cycles) through latest record to qualify as sustained return toward pre-event conditions:
Export Recovery Table as CSV
Cross-Regional Recovery Comparison (Consistent Time Axis)
Scientific Safeguards & Recovery Interpretation Guidelines
Chemical Return vs. Ecological Recovery
A return of water-column salinity, dissolved oxygen, or pH toward pre-event levels reflects physical and chemical equilibration, but must NOT be equated with ecological community recovery. Extended exposure to low salinity and hypoxia represents acute physiological stress documented in literature to affect benthic infauna, eastern oysters ( Crassostrea virginica ), and seagrasses. However, IRLON sensors measure water-column parameters only; direct biological outcomes cannot be confirmed without dedicated in-situ ecological surveys.
Tidal & Transient Masking
Coastal ocean inlets (e.g., Fort Pierce IRL-FP) undergo dramatic semi-diurnal salinity fluctuations during flood tides (+15 to +20 PSU in 2–3 hours), followed by complete low-tide freshening on ebb. Declaring recovery based on isolated high-tide pulses is scientifically invalid; the dashboard enforces multi-tidal (>=24h consecutive) and 80% stability criteria.
Plausible Drivers & QC Rigor
Observed water quality changes reflect multiple plausible mechanisms, including watershed canal inflows, localized direct rainfall, stormwater runoff, wind resuspension, and restricted tidal egress. Documented servicing artifacts and the Nov 1 DST fallback are strictly harmonized in America/New_York timestamps without altering raw cache files.
Side-by-Side Parameter Comparison
Lagoon Spatial Transect: North to South Freshwater Progression
Visualizing stations ordered along the Indian River Lagoon axis from North (IRL-SB / IRL-VB) to South (IRL-FP / SLE-SF).
Event Comparison: November 2026 Flooding vs Hurricane Milton (October 2024)
Compare the hydrologic footprint and estuarine response of the November 1–3, 2026 flooding event against Hurricane Milton (October 9–10, 2024) using unified local cached observations.
November 2026 Historic Flooding Event
Hurricane Milton (October 2024)
Major Storm & Rain Events Catalog (2021–2026 Synthesis)
Comprehensive major rainfall and storm event catalogue synthesizing the published IRLON long-term CERF baseline (2021–2025) and updated with recent events including the historic November 2026 Flooding Event and Hurricane Milton. Table is sorted with the most recent events first; click column headers to re-sort or use the search box to find specific named storms.
Data Provenance, Quality Control (QC) & Review of Extreme Values
1. Review of Extreme Reported Values:
- Fort Pierce (IRL-FP) 0.02 PSU Anomaly vs Real Minimum: Recorded on 2026-11-05 10:00 EST as 0.0247 PSU (flagged 'suspect'). Forensic multi-sensor inspection reveals this single point was an out-of-water instrument artifact: depth_instrument dropped to -0.08 m (flagged 'bad'), pressure dropped to -0.08 dbar (flagged 'bad'), optical DO spiked to 7.75 mg/L (94.9% atmospheric air saturation), and turbidity/CDOM returned NA. The sonde was briefly hoisted into ambient air during field servicing. The REAL authentic salinity minimum at Fort Pierce was 12.16 PSU, observed during the low-tide ebb plume on Nov 5 (12:00–17:00 EST), representing an authentic -17.0 PSU (-58.3%) freshening from pre-event baseline (29.2 PSU).
- Banana River at SR 520 Peak Streamflow of 20,725 cfs: Recorded on 2026-11-02 13:00 EST by USGS NWIS gauge 02249560. Marked as provisional ('P'). This extraordinary 71.5-fold increase over pre-event baseline (290 cfs) reflects severe overland storm runoff routing across Brevard County into the Banana River basin.
- Melbourne Beach (IRL-MB) 22.75-Inch 72-Hour Precipitation: Exceeded the 500-to-1,000-year recurrence interval. Nearby volunteer CoCoRaHS gauges and NWS Melbourne radar estimates corroborate localized convective training bands delivering 20–26 inches across the barrier island.
2. Documented Field Servicing Exclusions & Sensor Artifacts:
Documented periods where sensors were retrieved from the water for field servicing, calibration, or instrument exchange. When 'Exclude Servicing Artifacts' is checked in the sidebar, observations during these documented windows are excluded from environmental calculations to prevent distortion:
3. Quality Control (QC) Flag Architecture:
The dashboard provides real-time QC filtering without altering raw historical records:
- Code 3 ('good'): Sensor data that passed automated and human validation checks.
- Code 2 ('suspect'): Observations that fall outside standard statistical bounds or during transitional hydrologic spikes (such as extreme freshwater flushes).
- Code 1 ('bad'): Failed observations, sensor fouling, or electrical dropouts. Excluded when 'Exclude Bad' or 'Good Only' is selected.
- Code 0 ('not evaluated'): Recent provisional or unreviewed observations.
- Provisional ('provisional' / 'P'): USGS continuous discharge observations prior to final annual water data approval.
4. External Data Sources & Integration Status:
- NOAA CO-OPS REST Data API: Successfully integrated hourly observed water level, predicted astronomical tide, and storm surge residual for Trident Pier (8721604) and Lake Worth Pier (8722670). Cached in data/noaa_coops_water_level_2026.rds.
- NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9: Precipitation frequency values integrated for return-period contextualization.
- USGS NWIS (via dataRetrieval): Live streamflow for Banana River, Turkey Creek, St. Sebastian River, Vero Canals, and C-44 (S-80).
- SFWMD DBHYDRO Status: Legacy endpoint host my.sfwmd.gov is decommissioned/unreachable via DNS. Continuous S-80 discharge is fully supplied via USGS station 02276522.
- NOAA MRMS Radar-Gauge: MRMS GRIB2 historical precipitation products documented; regional gauge observations provide high temporal resolution.