Chapter 1 Minimum Flows and Levels - Southwest Florida Water ...

Chapter 7 Glossary of Terms
Algae – Mostly single celled, colonial, or multi-celled plants containing
chlorophyll and lacking roots, stems and leaves.
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) – A natural multidecadal cyclic
variation in large-scale atmospheric flow and ocean currents in the North Atlantic
Ocean that combine to alternately increase and decrease Atlantic sea surface
temperatures. The cool and warm phases last for 25-45 years at a time, with a
difference of about 1°F (0.6°C) between extremes.
Aquifer – An underground geologic formation that contains sufficient saturated
permeable material to yield significant quantities of water to wells or springs.
Base Flow – Is flow in a channel sustained by ground-water discharge in the
absence of direct runoff.
Benchmark Period – A fixed, more or less permanent reference point in time
expressed as a period of years where flows are thought to reflect conditions in
the absences of withdrawals.
Benthic – Associated with the bottom of a body of water.
Biotic – Of or pertaining to the living components of an ecosystem.
Block 1 – A time period in which recorded flows are at their lowest annually,
defined as beginning when the average median daily flow falls below and stays
below the annual 75% exceedance flow.
Block 2 – A time period in which recorded flows are at their medium level
annually. Usually seen when mean annual exceedance flows range between 50-
75% exceedance flows.
Block 3 – A time period in which recorded flows are at their highest annually,
defined as beginning when the average median daily flow exceeds and stays
above the mean annual 50% exceedance flow.
Braden River Water Pattern Year – An annualized median daily flow
hydrograph specific to the Braden River where the first day flow starts at the
beginning of Block 1 and run through Block 3 and ends on the last day of Block
2.
cfs – Cubic feet per second is a measure of streamflow or discharge.
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