Ever wonder what scientists mean when they talk about “saltwater intrusion”? It’s easy, really: Saltwater is denser than fresh, so when, for example, we overpump a well (be it in our backyard or a drinking water source), we can pump so much that the saltwater “intrudes” on the well, pushing out the fresh and forever destroying that freshwater source. Photographer Benjamin Dimmitt has used his camera to document the horror and the beauty of this tragedy, and at An Unflinching Look: Chassahowitzka Saltwater Intrusion — Photographs by Benjamin Dimmitt– you can witness this heartbreaking ecological change in the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. Dimmitt will have before and after photos. Opening reception May 6, 7 p.m.; artist talk, May 7, 2 p.m. Through June 11. Clayton Galleries, 4105 S. MacDill Ave., Tampa. 813-831-3753 claytongalleries.net.
This article appears in May 5-11, 2016.