Continuous Monitoring Data From Great Barnstable Marsh on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2017-19
Dates
Publication Date
2020-06-01
Start Date
2017
End Date
2019
Citation
O’Keefe Suttles, J.A., Gonneea, M.E., Mann, A.G., Brooks, T.W., Kroeger, K.D., Spivak, A.C., Wang, F., and Tang, J., 2020, Continuous monitoring data from Great Barnstable Marsh on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2017-19: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9FYDG9Z.
Summary
Salt marshes are environmental ecosystems that contribute to coastal landscape resiliency to storms and rising sea level. Ninety percent of mid-Atlantic and New England salt marshes have been impacted by parallel grid ditching that began in the 1920s–40s to control mosquito populations and to provide employment opportunities during the Great Depression (James-Pirri and others, 2009; Kennish, 2001). Continued alteration of salt marsh hydrology has had unintended consequences for salt marsh sustainability and ecosystem services. Great Barnstable Marsh (Barnstable, Cape Cod, Massachusetts) has areas of salt marsh that were ditched as well as natural areas. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured parameters for groundwater wells (water [...]
Summary
Salt marshes are environmental ecosystems that contribute to coastal landscape resiliency to storms and rising sea level. Ninety percent of mid-Atlantic and New England salt marshes have been impacted by parallel grid ditching that began in the 1920s–40s to control mosquito populations and to provide employment opportunities during the Great Depression (James-Pirri and others, 2009; Kennish, 2001). Continued alteration of salt marsh hydrology has had unintended consequences for salt marsh sustainability and ecosystem services. Great Barnstable Marsh (Barnstable, Cape Cod, Massachusetts) has areas of salt marsh that were ditched as well as natural areas. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured parameters for groundwater wells (water elevation, water depth below land surface, salinity, and water temperature), soil and air temperature, and other meteorological parameters. All these parameters affect plant productivity and are key components of salt marsh carbon cycling, carbon storage, and its ability to maintain elevation in response to changing sea level. These USGS datasets can be used to evaluate changes in water levels across ditched and natural salt marsh regions and provide information for any future studies of salt marsh productivity and geomorphic models in Great Barnstable Marsh.
James-Pirri, M.-J.,Ginsberg, H.S., Erwin,R.m., and Taylor, J., 2009, Effects of open marsh water management on numbers of larval salt marsh mosquitoes: Journal of Medical Entomology, 46(6), 1392-1399, doi:10.1603/033.046.0620. Kennish, M. J., 2001, Coastal salt marsh systems in the U.S.-A Review of Anthropogenic Impacts: Journal of Coastal Research, 17(3), 731-748, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4300224.
Click on title to download individual files attached to this item.
GBM_Ditches_Photo.jpg “Aerial photograph of the ditched portion of Great Barnstable Marsh, Cape Cod, MA”
8.84 MB
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GBM_MET_2017_2019.txt “Continuous monitoring of PAR and other meteorological parameters data.”
7.75 MB
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GBM_MET_deployments_2017_2019.txt “Summary of deployment dates and serial numbers of meteorological sensors.”
760 Bytes
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GBM_meta_2017_2019.xml “CSDGM metadata.” Original FGDC Metadata
View
73.32 KB
application/fgdc+xml
GBM_TEMP_2017_2019.txt “Continuous monitoring of soil and air temperature data.”
6.96 MB
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GBM_Well_2017_2019.txt “Continuous monitoring of well water level, temperature, and salinity data.”
30.18 MB
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GBM_WellSensorDeploymentHeights_2017_2019.txt “Summary of land elevation, deployment length, and well height measurements. ”
1.94 KB
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Purpose
These datasets may be used to quantify and compare metrics of salt marsh sustainability and ecosystem services (including platform elevation, soil accretion rates, carbon sequestration, and plant productivity) in ditched and natural salt marshes.
Preview Image
Aerial photograph of the ditched portion of Great Barnstable Marsh, Cape Cod, MA