Georgia Coastal Ecosystems - Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER)

Field studies focus on hydrodynamics and hydrology, assessment of
ground water inputs, and the relationship of flows and fluxes to
morphology. Complementary studies will include DIC, O2 and NO3 -
fluxes, sediment biogeochemistry and plant and animal community
composition, density and diversity. Specific processes that will be
addressed by field studies and numerical simulations include:
1. Influence of hydrological processes (evaporation, transpiration,
groundwater input, marsh circulation) on the salt balance at different
places in the creek-marsh complex, 2. Effects of forcing from water
level gradients (barotropic mode) and density gradients (baroclinic
mode) which reinforce and/or counteract at different stages of the
tidal cycle, and 3. Tidal energy dissipation in and along the salt
marsh/tidal creek complex which provides energy for resuspension and
transport sediments; dispersion of organisms; mixing and diffusion of
salt and biogeochemical constituents; and controls benthic boundary
layer thickness.

The Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research
(GCE-LTER) site is located on the central Georgia coast of the
Southeastern United States, in the vicinity of Sapelo Island and the
Altamaha River (31.40 N Lat, 81.30 W Lon).

This information was obtained in part from the Georgia Coastal
Ecosystems Home page at
http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/project/project_summary.htm .

The Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER site is part of the Long Term
Ecological Research Network, which is funded by the National Science
Foundation, and accessible at www.lternet.edu. Data are one of the
most valuable products of the LTER program. The goal of the Network
is to provide fast, effective, and open access to LTER data. Over 2000
ecological datasets are part of a network-wide information system
designed to facilitate data exchange and integration to meet the needs
of ecological scientists.