" Restoring Beaches as Natural Coastal Systems "
Monthly Time Series 2023 (Click on Thumbnails to Expand)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Mean Low TideTime Lag - 2024
Gage/Gulf Mean Tide Ratios - 2024
Mean Low TideTime Lag - 2023
Gage/Gulf Mean Tide Ratios - 2023
Gage/Gulf Mean Tide Ratios - 2022
Gage/Gulf Mean Tide Ratios - 2021
Gage/Gulf Mean Tide Ratios - 2020
Gage/Gulf Mean Tide Ratios - 2019
Gage/Gulf Mean Tide Ratios - 2018
Gage/Gulf Mean Tide Ratios - 2017
Gage/Gulf Mean Tide Ratios - 2016
Definitions:
Mean Tide Ratio: ratio of tide amplitude at gages over the tide amplitude from the Gulf of Mexico, averaged over a month. This ratio is representative of the pass's effectiveness in flushing water from the bay. The lower the ratio, the less efficient is flushing, indicating material accumulating in the pass. The threshold Tide Ratio for the pass is 0.5 (at Marker 4 & 14); below this value there is a higher risk for the pass to fill in, then the pass should be monitored closely.
Mean Low Tide Lag: time difference between low tide in the Gulf of Mexico and at the gage's locations, averaged over a month in minutes. The time lag is also represenattive of the pass's effectiveness in flushing water from the bay. The higher the lag the less efficient is flushing, indicating material accumulating in the pass.
Background
Clam Pass is a small wave dominated inlet on the southwest coast of Florida that provides a tidal connection to 500 acres of the wetland preserve of Clam Bay Natural Resource Protection Area (NRPA). This preserve includes several interconnected bays surrounded by extensive areas of mangrove wetlands. The preserve is a pristine environmental resource that is collectively known as Clam Bay. Clam Pass has gone through periods of inlet migration as well as closure, because the relatively small tidal prism for Clam Bay provides critical balance between tidal energy and littoral process at the inlet channel.
Humiston & Moore Engineers provides professional engineering services to Pelican Bay Services Division of Collier County, Florida for Clam Pass and Clam Bay. Humiston & Moore Engineers provided engineering services to assist Turrell Hall & Associate in the development of the Clam Bay NRPA management plan of 1998 and the updated plan of 2014. The engineering services included the development of design criteria for the inlet stability and conditions for maintenance dredging to maintain hydraulic efficiency and avoid potential inlet closure including. The implementation of the NRPA management plan includes various monitoring to maintain the health of the eco system. In addition to the ecological and biological monitoring of the bay system and its function as a protected environmental resource, the monitoring program includes hydraulic and physical monitoring of the inlet and bay system to monitor the stability of the pass and assess maintenance requirements. Monitoring of the hydraulic and physical conditions of the Clam Bay system continues according to the updated NRPA management plan. The hydraulic monitoring includes continuous water level and tidal data collection at 4 locations within the bay system.