Conceptual marsh units for Plum Island Estuary and Parker River salt marsh complex, Massachusetts

Note: The 2021 data release "Geospatial characterization of salt marshes for Massachusetts" is a more recent and comprehensive MA salt marsh dataset. (https://doi.org/10.5066/P97E086F) The salt marsh complex of Plum Island Estuary and Parker River (PIEPR) was delineated to smaller, conceptual marsh units by geoprocessing of surface elevation data. Flow accumulation based on the relative elevation of each location was used to determine the ridge lines that separate each marsh unit while the surface slope was used to automatically assign each unit a drainage point, where water is expected to drain through. Through scientific efforts initiated with the Hurricane Sandy Science Plan, the U.S. Geological Survey has been expanding national [...]