Sediment Elevation Change (SET Method) from Northeastern Florida Bay (FCE) from 1996 to Present

The long term goal of the South Florida Water Management District's research program focuses on the following central objective: Regional processes mediated by water flow control population and ecosystem level dynamics at any location within the coastal Everglades landscape. This phenomenon is best exemplified in the dynamics of an estuarine oligohaline zone where fresh water draining phosphorus-limited Everglades marshes mixes with water from the more nitrogen-limited coastal ocean. Data in this data package are specifically to monitor soil elevation change relative to current sea level using the SET method. The Feldspar Marker Horizon method was used in conjunction with the SET data. The Feldspar data are in dataset FCE1213.

Sediment Elevation Change is measured at 27 locations in Florida Bay using sediment elevation table (SET), which is a device designed to measure temporal and spatial changes in soil elevation within ±0.7- 1.8 mm confidence interval. The SET is attached to a benchmark that was driven into the soil to refusal, making the depth of the benchmark the reference datum. Elevation change measured by the SET is influenced by both surface and subsurface processes occurring within the soil profile.

Marker horizons are commonly used in conjunction with the SET. Marker horizons measure vertical accretion which predominantly incorporates surface processes. Vertical accretion is measured as the rate of accumulation above feldspar marker horizons laid on the soil surface. Three feldspar marker horizons are laid around each SET platform at each study site. Vertical accretion is measured by taking a core and the depth of the marker horizon below the surface is measured to the nearest millimeter.