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At least 55 records · Page 3

AmeriFlux US-EKY Elkhorn Slough Yampah Marsh

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-EKY Elkhorn Slough Yampah Marsh. Site Description - Undisturbed salth marsh in the Elkhorn Slough. Islands with dense pickleweek cut by tidal channels. Marsh is inundated and drained diurnally.

Paytan, Adina [University of California, Santa Cru↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-PLo Plum Island Oligohaline Marsh

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-PLo Plum Island Oligohaline Marsh. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-PLo Plum Island Oligohaline Marsh produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The site is a tidal oligohaline marsh located within the Plum Island Sound estuary, which is characterized by a tidal range of 2.5-3m and a vegetation cover of Typha angustifolia. Porewater salinity changes seasonally as influenced by freshwater discharge. Elevation is about 1.4m NAVD88.

Forbrich, Inke [University of Toledo]↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F CA-DSM Delta Salt Marsh

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site CA-DSM Delta Salt Marsh. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site CA-DSM Delta Salt Marsh produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - This site is a tidal salt marsh on the eastern side of the Boundary Bay Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. This area is located on the southern front of the Fraser River. The total area of the Boundary Bay WMA is 11,470 ha, and the eastern part surrounding the flux tower accounts for 39 ha. This area is surrounded by farms and dikes. The Provincial Government purchased this area in 1974 limiting public access and designated it as WMA in 1995. This area has a mixed semidiurnal tidal cycle. The dominant species is Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) with a canopy height of ~40 cm. The tower is in a high marsh system and was installed to analyze energy, H2O, CO2, and CH4 fluxes on September 3, 2021.

Knox, Sara [The University of British Columbia]↗

ELM model simulations of Plum Island Ecosystems LTER low marsh site 2018-2020

Model simulations using the Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) land model (ELM) with improved capabilities to represent vegetation response to salinity and inundation. The simulations were conducted for a tidal salt marsh at Plum Island Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site near Rowley, Massachusetts, USA; the site is a low marsh dominated by Spartina alterniflora. The model was forced with site-specific meteorology, salinity and tidal cycles from 2018-2020. Four sets of model simulations are included and described below:1. Parameterization of the salinity response function. These simulations tested different combinations of values for optimal salinity and salinity tolerance.2. Model evaluation. This comparison conducted simulations using the default model, the salinity function only, the submergence function only, and both the salinity and submergence functions. 3. Salinity scenarios. These simulations used the 2018 salinity input data varied by -5 to +10 ppt salinity.4. Water level scenarios. These simulations used the tide height varied by -10 to +50 cm. These simulations were used to demonstrate how the salinity and submergence functions better represent carbon uptake by tidal salt marshes.The data package includes netCDF files used as forcing files for tide height and salinity, one for each year 2018-2020 at observed salinity concentrations, and an additional three forcing files in which salinity concentrations were varied 5 ppt lower, 5 ppt higher, and 10 ppt higher than the measured 2018 time series. Also included are python scripts for creating forcing files, plain text parameter and command files for running simulations, model outputs in netCDF format, and python scripts for visualizing outputs. Code for the modified E3SM model is archived in Sulman et al 2023 at doi:10.15485/1991625. More detail about files is provided in the README.md file.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

AmeriFlux US-Hsm Hill Slough Marsh

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Hsm Hill Slough Marsh. Site Description - The site is currently a diked marsh - upland ecotone located at the northern Suisun Marsh. It will undergo tidal restoration in Fall 2021. Restoration work is done by Ducks Unlimited Inc. and will cover an area of 649 acres. After levee breaches, the site tower will be in a high marsh system. Water level at high tide is estimated to be 0.5-1 m above the soil. Ducks Unlimited, Inc. and the Berkeley Biometeorology lab are working together to evaluate the effects of the proposed tidal marsh restoration project.

Kyle_Delwiche, Kyle_Delwiche↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-Hsm Hill Slough Marsh

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Hsm Hill Slough Marsh. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-Hsm Hill Slough Marsh produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The site is currently a diked marsh - upland ecotone located at the northern Suisun Marsh. It will undergo tidal restoration in Fall 2021. Restoration work is done by Ducks Unlimited Inc. and will cover an area of 649 acres. After levee breaches, the site tower will be in a high marsh system. Water level at high tide is estimated to be 0.5-1 m above the soil. Ducks Unlimited, Inc. and the Berkeley Biometeorology lab are working together to evaluate the effects of the proposed tidal marsh restoration project.

Kyle_Delwiche, Kyle_Delwiche [University of Califo↗

AmeriFlux US-EKP Elkhorn Slough Porter Marsh

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-EKP Elkhorn Slough Porter Marsh. Site Description - Tidally restricted amd diked salt marsh. Berm and Islands with picklweek, cut by mudlats and an ephemeral creek.

Paytan, Adina [University of California, Santa Cru↗

AmeriFlux US-EKN Elkhorn Slough North Marsh

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-EKN Elkhorn Slough North Marsh. Site Description - Tidally restricted and diked salt marsh. Large water-filled basin with picklweek around the edges. Algal eutrophication and anerobic signal.

Paytan, Adina [University of California, Santa Cru↗

Reducing impacts of artificial ponding in modeling salt marshes using a conductivity-formulated subgrid model

The landforms of salt marsh systems are rather complex, with meandering channel networks cutting through low-lying, extensive marsh platforms. Some small-scale topographic details are critical to flooding and draining processes but cannot be reflected in the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) due to limited measurement resolution and vegetation bias. Numerical models need a grid with high enough resolution to capture the small-scale connectivity to correctly model the small-scale flow processes, making the model computationally unaffordable. Here, in this study, we derived a subgrid model, which couples two flow components, one is the regular subgrid model for simulating the subgrid-resolved flows, and the other is a conductivity-formulated porous flow model for modeling small-scale gut flows unresolved at the subgrid level. The model validation was performed using an idealized case with a narrow slot that was unresolved in the coupled flow model. Model results were compared with a slot-resolved regular subgrid model where only surface flows are solved and suggested that, with a proper model parameterization, the coupled flow model is capable of reproducing flooding and draining processes similar to the slot-resolved subgrid model of surface flow. The model was applied to simulating flooding and draining processes in a meso-tidal salt marsh. The model results demonstrate that the coupled subgrid model can be used to reduce the impacts of artificial ponding that usually occur in numerical simulations of salt marshes with numerous narrow gullies and creeks.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

15-minute Parker River gap-filled tide height and salinity data, PIE LTER, Plum Island Sound, MA (2014–2023), for ELM PFLOTRAN modeling

This dataset contains 15-minute tide height and salinity data from the Typha site along the Parker River, part of the Plum Island Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research (PIE LTER) site in Plum Island Sound, Massachusetts (MA) 2014-2023. Tide height (in NAVD88) was compiled from measurements conducted at the mouth of Plum Island Sound and corrected for time lags. Gap-filling of missing periods were done by fitting tidal constituents to the time series. Salinity was measured (and is stored on ESS DIVE ) in 2022 and 2023 using HOBO U24-002 conductivity loggers. River discharge is the most important control on tidal river water salinity at the location (Vallino & Hopkinson, 1998). An artificial neural network was trained to predict river water salinity at the location using Parker River discharge (USGS station 01101000, Parker River at Byfield, MA) and gap-filled salinity observations from a long-term monitoring station ca. 3km downstream from the Typha site (LTER station ‘Middle Road’) as input variables to create continuous time series information. The data set was used in the spin up and simulations of a land surface model coupled to a biogeochemical reaction network (ELM PFLOTRAN) assessing impacts of hydrology and salinity input on methane fluxes in 2022 and 2023 (Sulman et al., 2024). Metadata files ELMPFLOTRAN_tide_salinity_dd.csv and ELMPFLOTRAN_tide_salinity_flmd.csv provide details on site location, data variables, and QA/QC methods .

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Human‐induced salinity changes impact marine organisms and ecosystems

Abstract Climate change is fundamentally altering marine and coastal ecosystems on a global scale. While the effects of ocean warming and acidification on ecology and ecosystem functions and services are being comprehensively researched, less attention is directed toward understanding the impacts of human‐driven ocean salinity changes. The global water cycle operates through water fluxes expressed as precipitation, evaporation, and freshwater runoff from land. Changes to these in turn modulate ocean salinity and shape the marine and coastal environment by affecting ocean currents, stratification, oxygen saturation, and sea level rise. Besides the direct impact on ocean physical processes, salinity changes impact ocean biological functions with the ecophysiological consequences are being poorly understood. This is surprising as salinity changes may impact diversity, ecosystem and habitat structure loss, and community shifts including trophic cascades. Climate model future projections (of end of the century salinity changes) indicate magnitudes that lead to modification of open ocean plankton community structure and habitat suitability of coral reef communities. Such salinity changes are also capable of affecting the diversity and metabolic capacity of coastal microorganisms and impairing the photosynthetic capacity of (coastal and open ocean) phytoplankton, macroalgae, and seagrass, with downstream ramifications on global biogeochemical cycling. The scarcity of comprehensive salinity data in dynamic coastal regions warrants additional attention. Such datasets are crucial to quantify salinity‐based ecosystem function relationships and project such changes that ultimately link into carbon sequestration and freshwater as well as food availability to human populations around the globe. It is critical to integrate vigorous high‐quality salinity data with interacting key environmental parameters (e.g., temperature, nutrients, oxygen) for a comprehensive understanding of anthropogenically induced marine changes and its impact on human health and the global economy.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The Coastal Carbon Library and Atlas: Open source soil data and tools supporting blue carbon research and policy

Abstract Quantifying carbon fluxes into and out of coastal soils is critical to meeting greenhouse gas reduction and coastal resiliency goals. Numerous ‘blue carbon’ studies have generated, or benefitted from, synthetic datasets. However, the community those efforts inspired does not have a centralized, standardized database of disaggregated data used to estimate carbon stocks and fluxes. In this paper, we describe a data structure designed to standardize data reporting, maximize reuse, and maintain a chain of credit from synthesis to original source. We introduce version 1.0.0. of the Coastal Carbon Library, a global database of 6723 soil profiles representing blue carbon‐storing systems including marshes, mangroves, tidal freshwater forests, and seagrasses. We also present the Coastal Carbon Atlas, an R‐shiny application that can be used to visualize, query, and download portions of the Coastal Carbon Library. The majority (4815) of entries in the database can be used for carbon stock assessments without the need for interpolating missing soil variables, 533 are available for estimating carbon burial rate, and 326 are useful for fitting dynamic soil formation models. Organic matter density significantly varied by habitat with tidal freshwater forests having the highest density, and seagrasses having the lowest. Future work could involve expansion of the synthesis to include more deep stock assessments, increasing the representation of data outside of the U.S., and increasing the amount of data available for mangroves and seagrasses, especially carbon burial rate data. We present proposed best practices for blue carbon data including an emphasis on disaggregation, data publication, dataset documentation, and use of standardized vocabulary and templates whenever appropriate. To conclude, the Coastal Carbon Library and Atlas serve as a general example of a grassroots F.A.I.R. (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data effort demonstrating how data producers can coordinate to develop tools relevant to policy and decision‐making.

Holmquist, James R.↗

AmeriFlux US-HB1 North Inlet Crab Haul Creek

This is the AmeriFlux version of the carbon flux data for the site US-HB1 North Inlet Crab Haul Creek. Site Description - The flux footprint includes a tidal salt marsh with approximately 40% tall form Spartina alterniflora, 40% short form Spartina alterniflora and 20% creek.

Schermaier, Daniel↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-HB1 North Inlet Crab Haul Creek

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-HB1 North Inlet Crab Haul Creek. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-HB1 North Inlet Crab Haul Creek produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The flux footprint includes a tidal salt marsh with approximately 40% tall form Spartina alterniflora, 40% short form Spartina alterniflora and 20% creek.

Schermaier, Daniel↗

Seasonal and tidal variations in hydrologic inputs drive salt marsh porewater nitrate dynamics

Salt marshes remove terrestrially derived nutrients en route to coasts. While these systems play a critical role in improving water quality, we still have a limited understanding of the spatiotemporal variability of biogeochemically reactive solutes and processes within salt marshes. We implemented a high-frequency sampling system to monitor sub-hourly nitrate (NO$^{–}_{3}$) concentrations in salt marsh porewater at Elkhorn Slough in central California, USA. We instrumented three marsh positions along an elevation gradient subjected to different amounts of tidal inundation, which we predicted would lead to varied biogeochemical characteristics and hydrological interactions. At each marsh position, we continuously monitored porewater NO$^{–}_{3}$ concentrations at depths of 10, 30, and 50 cm and porewater levels measured at 70 cm depth over seven deployments of ~10 days each that spanned seasonal wet/dry periods common to Mediterranean climates. We quantified tidal event hysteresis between NO$^{–}_{3}$ and water level to understand how NO$^{–}_{3}$ concentrations and sources fluctuate across tidal cycles. In dry periods, the NO$^{–}_{3}$-porewater level relationship indicated that the NO$^{–}_{3}$ source was likely estuarine surface water that flooded the transect during high tides and the salt marsh was a NO$^{–}_{3}$ sink. In wet periods, the NO$^{–}_{3}$-porewater level relationship suggested the salt marsh was a source of NO$^{–}_{3}$. Finally, these findings suggest that tidal and seasonal hydrologic fluxes together control NO$^{–}_{3}$ porewater dynamics and export and influence ecological processes in coastal environments.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Total ecosystem carbon stocks at the marine-terrestrial interface: Blue carbon of the Pacific Northwest Coast, United States

The coastal ecosystems of temperate North America provide a variety of ecosystem services including high rates of carbon sequestration. Yet, little data exist for the carbon stocks of major tidal wetland types in the Pacific Northwest, United States. We quantified the total ecosystem carbon stocks (TECS) in seagrass, emergent marshes, and forested tidal wetlands, occurring along increasing elevation and decreasing salinity gradients. The TECS included the total aboveground carbon stocks and the entire soil profile (to as deep as 3 m). TECS significantly increased along the elevation and salinity gradients: 217 ± 60 Mg C/ha for seagrass (low elevation/high salinity), 417 ± 70 Mg C/ha for low marsh, 551 ± 47 Mg C/ha for high marsh, and 1,064 ± 38 Mg C/ha for tidal forest (high elevation/low salinity). Soil carbon stocks accounted for >98% of TECS in the seagrass and marsh communities and 78% in the tidal forest. Soils in the 0–100 cm portion of the profile accounted for only 48%–53% of the TECS in seagrasses and marshes and 34% of the TECS in tidal forests. Thus, the commonly applied limit defining TECS to a 100 cm depth would greatly underestimate both carbon stocks and potential greenhouse gas emissions from land-use conversion. The large carbon stocks coupled with other ecosystem services suggest value in the conservation and restoration of temperate zone tidal wetlands through climate change mitigation strategies. However, the findings suggest that long-term sea level rise effects such as tidal inundation and increased porewater salinity will likely decrease ecosystem carbon stocks in the absence of upslope wetland migration buffer zones.

Kauffman, J Boone↗

Modeled sub-hourly nitrate concentrations in subsurface water across a salt marsh system in Elkhorn Slough, California

Salt marshes are dynamic hydrologic systems where terrestrial groundwater, terrestrial surface water, and seawater mix due to bi-directional flows and pressure gradients. Salt marshes are known to remove excess nitrate from water thereby improving water quality in coastal systems. However, our knowledge of the short-term processes (e.g., intra-tidal) in salt marshes is limited. Further, we lack knowledge about how these short-term dynamics may change as a function of seasonality. To address this knowledge gap, we develope a sampling methodology that allowed us to continuously measure nitrate in subsurface water at three different depths across three marsh elevations at sub-hourly time steps. Here we present a data table with the results of nitrate in porewater across the three salt marsh elevations (information in the data set). We analyzed nitrate with a s::can spectrophotometer. We used the UV-Vis absorbance of the samples to calculate nitrate concentrations using a local calibration library. More information about the methodology can be found in Grande et al (2023). Seasonal and Tidal Variations in Hydrologic Inputs Drive Salt Marsh Porewater Nitrate Dynamics, Hydrological Processes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Tidal frequencies and quasiperiodic subsurface water level variations dominate redox dynamics in a salt marsh system

Salt marshes are hotspots of nutrient processing en route to sensitive coastal environments. Whilst our understanding of these systems has improved over the years, we still have limited knowledge of the spatiotemporal variability of critical biogeochemical drivers within salt marshes. Sea-level rise will continue to force change on salt marsh functioning, highlighting the urgency of filling this knowledge gap. Our study was conducted in a central California estuary experiencing extensive marsh drowning and relative sea-level rise, making it a model system for such an investigation. Here we instrumented three marsh positions subjected to different degrees of tidal inundation (6.7%, 8.9%, and 11.2% of the time for the upper, middle, and lower marsh positions, respectively), providing locations with varied biogeochemical characteristics and hydrological interactions at the site. We continuously monitored redox potential (Eh) at depths of 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 m, subsurface water levels (WL), and temperature at 0.7 m depth at each marsh position. To understand how drivers of subsurface biogeochemical processes fluctuate across tidal cycles, we used wavelet analyses to explain the interactions between Eh and WL. We found that tidal forcing significantly affects key drivers of biogeochemical processes by imparting controls on Eh variability, likely driving subsurface hydro-biogeochemistry of the salt marsh. Wavelet coherence showed that the Eh-WL relationship is nonlinear, and their lead–lag relationship is variable. We found that precipitation events perturb Eh at depth over timescales of hours, even though WL shows relatively minimal change during events. Furthermore, this work highlights the importance of high frequency in situ measurements, such as Eh, to help explain factors that govern subsurface biogeochemistry and hydrological processes in salt marshes.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗