Geospatial Characterization of Salt Marshes in Chesapeake Bay

<p><strong>Open the Data Resource:</strong> <a target='_blank' href='https://doi.org/10.5066/P997EJYB' rel='nofollow ugc noopener noreferrer'>https://doi.org/10.5066/P997EJYB</a></p><p>This data release contains coastal wetland synthesis products for Chesapeake Bay. Metrics for resiliency, including unvegetated to vegetated ratio (UVVR), marsh elevation, and tidal range are calculated for smaller units delineated from a digital elevation model, providing the spatial variability of physical factors that influence wetland health. The U.S. Geological Survey has been expanding national assessment of coastal change hazards and forecast products to coastal wetlands with the intent of providing federal, state, and local managers with tools to estimate the vulnerability and ecosystem service potential of these wetlands. For this purpose, the response and resilience of coastal wetlands to physical factors need to be assessed in terms of the ensuing change to their vulnerability and ecosystem services.</p><p>The salt marshes of Chesapeake Bay were delineated to smaller, conceptual marsh units by the geoprocessing of surface elevation data. Flow accumulation based on the relative elevation of each location is used to determine the ridge lines that separate each marsh unit while the surface slope is used to automatically assign each unit a drainage point where water is expected to drain through.</p><p><strong>Citation:</strong> Ackerman, K.V., Defne, Z., and Ganju, N.K., 2022, Geospatial characterization of salt marshes in Chesapeake Bay: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P997EJYB.</p>