| | Accession Number | 5003468 |
| | Title | Sea level rise, marsh inundation, and wildlife habitat implications |
| | Project Description | With global climate change, average sea levels have risen in a number of areas in the United |
| | States and in other parts of the world. Projections range from about 1 to 4 mm per year for many |
| | areas along the Atlantic Coast. Some evidence exists that suggests in some coastal estuaries, |
| | marsh surfaces will not be able to keep pace with sea level rise and will become inundated over |
| | the next century or less. Salt marsh islands in large coastal lagoons seem to be more at risk than |
| | fringe marshes along barrier islands or the mainland because of a paucity of inorganic sediments |
| | available. Salt marsh islands are extremely important habitats for many species of waterbirds for |
| | nesting, feeding, or roosting. These habitats may change dramatically in topography and area as |
| | relative sea level rise causes inundation. This study proposes to couple measurements of physical |
| | changes in sea level, marsh elevation and topography with biological estimates of habitat use by |
| | a variety of waterbird species in coastal estuaries. |
| | Keywords | coastal marshes, human impacts, marsh inundation, migratory birds, national parks, national |
| | wildlife refuges, salt marshes, sea level rise, |
| | Principal | Michael Erwin, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: rme5g@virginia.edu; |
| | Investigators |
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