Wetland Changes Affect South Florida Freezes Orange and other
citrus crops are being squeezed by stronger freezes in South
Florida, due to changes in wetlands. Image to right: Landsat
Satellite Looks at Florida -- This image mosaic of South Florida
was acquired by the Landsat-5 satellite during the late-1980's.
The large blue circular area left of the center is Lake
Okeechobee. The dark colored area just to the south of the lake
is an agricultural area. To the southeast and east are water
conservation areas. The Everglades wetlands are to the south.
Click on image to enlarge. Credit: EarthSatellite
Corporation/NASA/USGS Scientists using satellite data, records
of land-cover changes, computer models, and weather records
found a link between the loss of wetlands and more severe
freezes in some agricultural areas of south Florida. In other
areas of the state, land use changes resulted in slightly warmer
conditions. NASA and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) funded
scientists in several agencies used Landsat satellit