This dataset was uploaded in 2015 and has recently been updated. To view the updated dataset, visit http://masgc.org/northern-gulf-of-mexico-sentinel-site-co/map.

This dataset provides an initial inventory of approximate locations (within 500 m accuracy) of Surface Elevation Tables (SETs) that are currently installed in coastal wetland ecosystems (e.g., salt marshes, mangrove forests, bottomland hardwood forests) along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast. All five U.S. gulf coast states are included: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. This inventory is the result of a cooperative effort between individuals at the NOAA Northern Gulf of Mexico Sentinel Site Cooperative and the USGS National Wetlands Research Center, who worked with scientists from other state, federal, academic, and non-profit organizations to compile this information. Due to their position at the land-sea interface, coastal wetlands are highly sensitive to sea-level change. Measurements of coastal wetland surface elevation change [via the surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) approach] improve our understanding of the ability (or inability) of coastal wetlands to keep pace with sea-level rise (for more information, see: Cahoon et al. 2002a, Cahoon et al. 2002b, Webb et al. 2012, Callaway et al. 2013). Wetland surface and shallow subsurface processes play an important role to determine vertical movement in coastal wetlands, and measurements made via the SET-MH approach can be used help better model these important processes and predict future coastal wetland change. This inventory provides the foundation for the potential development and/or expansion of SET networks and helps identify local gaps in measurements of coastal wetland sediment elevation change in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Note that coordinates in this inventory are approximate since they have been rounded to two decimal places at the request of the scientists. All point locations are within a 500 m radius of the original location. Although this initial inventory includes the majority of SETs present in this region, it is not exhaustive and there are some SETs that have not yet been included. For more information about SETs and the SET-MH approach, please refer to Cahoon et al. (2002a, 2002b), (Webb et al. 2012), Callaway et al (2013), and/or visit the following website: http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/set/.

References:

Cahoon, D., J. Lynch, P. Hensel, R. Boumans, B. Perez, B. Segura, and J. Day. 2002a. High-precision measurements of wetland sediment elevation: I. Recent improvements to the sedimentation-erosion table. Journal of Sedimentary Research 72:730-733.

Cahoon, D., J. Lynch, B. Perez, B. Segura, R. Holland, C. Stelly, G. Stephenson, and P. Hensel. 2002b. High-precision measurements of wetland sediment elevation: II. The rod surface elevation table. Journal of Sedimentary Research 72:734-739.

Callaway, J. C., D. R. Cahoon, and J. C. Lynch. 2013. The surface elevation table–marker horizon method for measuring wetland accretion and elevation dynamics. Pages 901-917 inR. D. DeLaune, K. R. Reddy, C. J. RIchardson, and J. P. Megonigal, editors. Methods in Biogeochemistry of Wetlands. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin.

Webb, E. L., D. A. Friess, K. W. Krauss, D. R. Cahoon, G. R. Guntenspergen, and J. Phelps. 2012. A global standard for monitoring coastal wetland vulnerability to accelerated sea-level rise. Nature Climate Change 3:458-465.