LARGE VERTICAL SALINITY GRADIENTS IN THE FT. PIERCE INLET ASSOCIATED WITH HURRICANE DAVID

The passage of Hurricane David had dramatic effects on the surface to bottom salinity gradient recorded in the Ft. Pierce Inlet. The Inlet is located in the Indian River on Florida's Atlantic coast. Salinities measured at meter intervals from surface to bottom, 12 da before the passage of the Hurricane, showed the water column to be vertically homogeneous. Eight da after the Hurricane, the water column was highly stratified during the ebb tide with a maximum surface to bottom salinity difference of 11.9 ppt. The flood tide was homogeneous after about 2 hr. Thus, the extensive rainfall during Hurricane David changed what was a wellmixed inlet into a highly stratified one during the ebb tide.