Salt Marsh Boundaries and Areas of Change on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, USA

Between 2002-2017, migration and edge erosion were measured in three mainland geomorphic marsh types (headland, valley, hammock) and were used to assess the rate and spatial extent of marsh change for the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The boundary between high salt marsh and forest was delineated by hand digitizing 2002 and 2017 imagery and the area was determined between the 2002 and 2017 treelines at each of the salt marshes. The 2017 delineated treelines and marsh edges were confirmed through personal observations by walking the along both types of boundaries, comparing them to printouts of the delineated boundaries. There were few discrepancies, but where differences were observed, the delineated boundaries were adjusted to account for field observations. All ESVA seaside marshes were identified using aerial imagery and GIS. The marsh counts shapefile is the result of that analysis. Each point identifies an individual marsh.