Shoreline change rates in salt marsh units in Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey

Monitoring shoreline change is of interest in many coastal areas because it enables quantification of land loss over time. Evolution of shoreline position is determined by the balance between erosion and accretion along the coast. In the case of salt marshes, erosion along the water boundary causes a loss of ecosystem services, such as habitat provision, carbon storage, and wave attenuation. In terms of vulnerability, higher shoreline erosion rates indicate higher vulnerability. This dataset displays shoreline change rates at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (EBFNWR), which spans over Great Bay, Little Egg Harbor, and Barnegat Bay in New Jersey, USA. Shoreline change rates are based on Smith and Terrano (2017) analysis of digital vector shorelines acquired from historic topographic sheets, aerial photography, and/or lidar using the AMBUR package (Jackson, 2010). Linear Regression Rates (LRR) of shoreline change were averaged along the shoreline of each salt marsh unit to generate this dataset. Positive and negative values indicate accretion and erosion respectively. As part of the Hurricane Sandy Science Plan, the U.S. Geological Survey is expanding National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards and forecast products to coastal wetlands. The intent is to provide federal, state, and local managers with tools to estimate their vulnerability and ecosystem service potential. 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. EBFNWR was selected as a pilot study area.对海岸线变化开展监测是诸多沿海区域的重要研究方向，因其可实现土地流失随时间变化的量化评估。海岸线位置的演化由沿岸侵蚀与淤积的动态平衡所主导。对于盐沼（salt marshes）而言，水域边界的侵蚀会导致其生态系统服务功能丧失，具体包括栖息地供给、碳封存以及波浪消能等。从脆弱性维度来看，海岸线侵蚀速率越高，对应的脆弱性程度也越高。 本数据集展示了美国新泽西州大湾（Great Bay）、小埃格港（Little Egg Harbor）与巴尼加特湾（Barnegat Bay）范围内的埃德温·B·福赛思国家野生动物保护区（Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, EBFNWR）的海岸线变化速率。本次海岸线变化速率的计算基于Smith与Terrano（2017）的分析成果，其借助AMBUR工具包（Jackson, 2010），对从历史地形图、航空摄影及/或激光雷达（lidar）数据中获取的数字矢量海岸线进行了处理。本数据集通过对每个盐沼单元的海岸线变化线性回归速率（Linear Regression Rates, LRR）进行沿岸线平均计算生成。其中正值代表淤积，负值则代表侵蚀。 作为“桑迪飓风科学计划”的组成部分，美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey）正将海岸变化灾害国家评估与预测产品体系拓展至沿海湿地领域。该举措旨在为联邦、州级与地方管理人员提供工具，以评估沿海湿地的脆弱性及其生态系统服务潜力。为此，需要结合沿海湿地的脆弱性与生态系统服务所发生的后续变化，评估其对物理扰动因素的响应与恢复能力。埃德温·B·福赛思国家野生动物保护区（EBFNWR）被选为本次试点研究区域。