Table 21. Excerpts of the anecdotal and historical chronology of events that affected the marine 
environment of the Florida Keys from 1714 to the present prepared by The Nature Conservancy 
(text as found in draft document except for minor editing) [DeMaria (in press)] (cont.). 
Year(s) 
Event 
January and February, green bloom water from the Bay moves over the reef. 
Before March, 'Storm of the Century', the surface water temperature off Key 
West is 75°F. Fifteen feet below the surface the water temperature is 71 °F. 
March, 'Storm of the Century* front moves from Tortugas, northeast through 
the Gulf of Mexico. Winds are clocked at 109 mph at Ft. Jefferson. 
March, population of diadema increasing in the nearshore waters off Long Key. 
March, July, and August, green phytoplankton bloom observed south of 
Marquesas, on the reef tract. Zero visibility. 
May, fishers from Duck Key tell of large pods of white and blue marlin in 1000 
feet of water. Describe the water color from stream to shore as being dark 
blue, to aquamarine, to a light blue, to a green near the shoreline. 
May, fifteen horseshoe crabs observed dead and washed into a canal system on 
the bayside of Key Largo. 
July, great Upper Mississippi River floods. 
July, coral bleaching documented at Sand Key, Rock Key, and Western Dry 
Rocks to a depth of 60 ft, and includes stony corals, sea mat, sponges, and fire 
coral. The seawater temperature at that time was 30.9°C, indicating that the 
lower Keys reef tract was experiencing thermal stress. 
August, off Key West the water is hot and coral bleaching is observed. 
'The freshwater in the canals in the southern everglades is higher than ever 
before (since 1978).' 
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