Unvegetated to Vegetated Ratio in coastal wetlands along the U.S. Atlantic Coast (16-bit GeoTIFF)
Dates
Publication Date
2021
Time Period
2021
Citation
Zafer Defne, Brady Couvillion, and Neil K. Ganju, 2021, Unvegetated to Vegetated Ratio in coastal wetlands along the U.S. Atlantic Coast (16-bit GeoTIFF): U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, https://doi.org/10.5066/P97DQXZP, https://doi.org/10.5066/P97DQXZP.
Summary
Prior research has shown that sediment budgets, and therefore stability, of microtidal marsh complexes scale with areal unvegetated to vegetated marsh ratios (UVVR) suggesting these metrics are broadly applicable indicators of microtidal marsh vulnerability. This effort has developed the UVVR metric using Landsat 8 satellite imagery for the coastal areas of the contiguous United States (CONUS). These datasets provide annual averages of 1) developed, 2) vegetated, 3) unvegetated fractional covers and 4) an unvegetated to vegetated ratio (UVVR) at 30-meter resolution over the coastal areas of the contiguous United States for the years 2014-2018. Additionally, multi-year average values of vegetated fractional cover and its standard deviation [...]
Summary
Prior research has shown that sediment budgets, and therefore stability, of microtidal marsh complexes scale with areal unvegetated to vegetated marsh ratios (UVVR) suggesting these metrics are broadly applicable indicators of microtidal marsh vulnerability. This effort has developed the UVVR metric using Landsat 8 satellite imagery for the coastal areas of the contiguous United States (CONUS). These datasets provide annual averages of 1) developed, 2) vegetated, 3) unvegetated fractional covers and 4) an unvegetated to vegetated ratio (UVVR) at 30-meter resolution over the coastal areas of the contiguous United States for the years 2014-2018. Additionally, multi-year average values of vegetated fractional cover and its standard deviation are provided for the coastal wetlands of the contiguous United States based on the National Wetland Inventory delineation. Finally, a UVVR based on the annually-averaged vegetated fractional cover is also provided for the same extent.
These datasets are provided as objective and consistent means to help evaluate geomorphic status and vulnerability of coastal wetlands at a national scale. Specifically, the unvegetated to vegetated marsh ratio (UVVR) is useful for establishing vegetative cover status and for tracking changes in the status of salt marshes.
Preview Image
Sample image displaying UVVR at the coastal wetlands along the Atlantic coast of the contiguous United States.