The FBI plays a major role in coordinating the dissemination of intelligence and law enforcement databases — and investigating any suspected terrorism plots.

“Information dissemination is one of our highest priorities,” said Stuart McArthur, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office and head of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force. “Every threat that comes in will be checked out by the South Florida JTTF.”

The FBI also is doing background checks on stadium workers and other employees involved in various Super Bowl events. Action will be taken if any red flags are raised.

Bykowsky said Gavin and the other bomb-sniffing dogs are capable of identifying minute amounts of powder and explosives no matter what other competing smells are around — kind of like finding a specific ingredient in a big bowl of vegetable soup. And there are some 19,000 explosives available around the world.

“If there are tomatoes in the soup, he will find them,” she said.

Many of the Defense Department and other aircraft will operate out of Homestead Air Reserve Base south of Miami. The ATF has explosives expertise and a mobile bomb lab coming from Atlanta. Large X-ray machines used by Customs at ports will scan shipping containers and truck trailers for suspicious material and high-tech sensors will check for radioactive and biological substances.

“Every square foot of the Super Bowl venue is under surveillance of some sort,” Battle said.

One wild card in Miami is whether there might be celebrations, or even rioting, among the thousands of Cuban exiles in the city if Fidel Castro dies before the game. The Cuban president has been seriously ill since midsummer, with some reports indicating he might be near death.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more. more photos

NFL officials and government officials say there is no plan to postpone the game or any of the numerous related events if Castro dies, and dealing with any disruptions triggered by such an event won’t take away personnel or assets from Super Bowl security.

“There is a plan, and it’s not going to affect the game at all — game day and all the events leading up to game day,” said Torres, who was born in Cuba and moved to Miami with her family at age 5. “We have planned for that.”