Satellite images track “black water” event off Florida Coast

Abstract

A mass of dark water, at times exceeding 60 km in diameter and spinning slowly in a clockwise eddy, occupied most of the Florida Bight between January and March 2002, capturing the attention of fishermen, the public, and government agencies. The “black water,” as it was dubbed in the national and international press (for example, see http://www.naplesnews.com), was first reported by fishery pilots in the Florida Bight in January 2002. Fishermen reported that fish were not to be found in the black water and there were dead sponges in the vicinity, suggesting that the area could be a “dead zone” similar to the one found every summer off the Louisiana coast.