Mean tidal range in salt marsh units of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey
Dates
Publication Date
2016-12-15
Citation
Defne, Zafer, and Ganju, N.K., 2016, Mean tidal range in salt marsh units of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey: U.S. Geological Survey data release, http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7CF9N7X.
Summary
Biomass production is positively correlated with mean tidal range in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States of America. Recent studies support the idea that enhanced stability of the marshes can be attributed to increased vegetative growth due to increased tidal range. This dataset displays the spatial variation mean tidal range (i.e. Mean Range of Tides, MN) in the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (EBFNWR), which spans over Great Bay, Little Egg Harbor, and Barnegat Bay in New Jersey, USA. MN was based on the calculated difference in height between mean high water (MHW) and mean low water (MLW) using the VDatum (v3.5) software (http://vdatum.noaa.gov/). The input elevation was set to zero in VDatum to [...]
Summary
Biomass production is positively correlated with mean tidal range in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States of America. Recent studies support the idea that enhanced stability of the marshes can be attributed to increased vegetative growth due to increased tidal range. This dataset displays the spatial variation mean tidal range (i.e. Mean Range of Tides, MN) in the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (EBFNWR), which spans over Great Bay, Little Egg Harbor, and Barnegat Bay in New Jersey, USA. MN was based on the calculated difference in height between mean high water (MHW) and mean low water (MLW) using the VDatum (v3.5) software (http://vdatum.noaa.gov/). The input elevation was set to zero in VDatum to calculate the relative difference between the two datums. As part of the Hurricane Sandy Science Plan, the U.S. Geological Survey has started a Wetland Synthesis Project to expand National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards and forecast products to coastal wetlands. The intent is to provide federal, state, and local managers with tools to estimate their vulnerability and ecosystem service potential. For this purpose, the response and resilience of coastal wetlands to physical factors need to be assessed in terms of the ensuing change to their vulnerability and ecosystem services. EBFNWR was selected as a pilot study area.
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Purpose
The general purpose of the Wetland Synthesis Project is to provide consistent assessment of change hazards and forecast products for ecosystems services and vulnerability of salt marsh systems. Analysis of mean tidal range is part of a comprehensive assessment to identify the factors and their weights in determining the vulnerability and resiliency of salt marshes.
