Research Symposium

BIO

Sophomore meteorology major from Zephyrhills, Florida. My research interests are within the field of hydro-meteorology, and at the moment I am specifically interested in this field in relation to karst hydrology. Upon graduation, I want to work in operational meteorology within the federal government.

How do large-scale climatic patterns influence lake sinkhole events?   

Abstract

In Tallahassee and the surrounding region, lake “dry-down” events appear to be increasingly more common. These occur when a sinkhole opens beneath a body of water and drains it into the aquifer. In 2021, three of these events were reported: one occurring with Porter Sink opening twice under Lake Jackson in North Tallahassee, and another sinkhole forming beneath Gilbert Pond northeast of Tallahassee. In the past, these have usually occurred every ten years or so, thus deeming three events in one year to be quite unusual. This apparent increase in frequency justifies further research into the cause of these events. In this project, we are investigating the correlation of large-scale climatic events (i.e., droughts and teleconnection cycles) on the opening of these sinkholes and their subsequent lake dry-down events. By comparing several monthly drought indexes as well as the monthly indexes for several teleconnection cycles on the months that sinkholes occurred, we hope to determine a correlation between the indexes and these events. In doing so, we may be more able to predict these occurrences using the current phase of a drought or teleconnection cycle.

Keywords: sinkhole hydrology drought lake teleconnection