[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by RidgeRunner

Scalloping in Steinahatchee, FL. No oil that far down the coast yet. BUT, I experienced something that I have never seen. In the water column I noticed a clear but fuzzy layer where the water was clear but was bending light in a funny way to the point you couldn't see thru it. The water was also red as if it was stained with tanin acid from the cypress swamp. 1/4mile away the water was pristeen. The area has had a lot of rain which could have been contributing. I kinda guessed that the fresh water running out of Rocky Creek was causing a layer effect similar to a thermocline. Yet I have never experienced a thermocline while snorkeling in 4 to 5 feet of water. Anybody got any ideas?

You're not alone in this, everybody is complaining about this all along the gulf coast of Fl. It's due to all of the run-off from the rivers from the rain here lately. We went awhile without much flow which stained the rivers pretty badly, and now all of the rain this week is washing it all out of the rivers in a hurry. Add in the 65-70 degree water from the springs that many of those rivers are fed by and it makes for cool stained water.