CAREER: Topographic Controls on Overmarsh Circulation and Sedimentation along a Salt Marsh - Forest Continuum

由于盐沼的生态系统功能(即水储存、营养物质再分配和碳固存)，以及海平面上升和沿海开发对其整体稳定性的潜在影响，盐沼仍然是深入研究的重点。随着水位上升，沼泽向内陆迁移的能力被认为是它们未来生存的首要决定因素。这个项目是专门设计来确定微妙的沼泽地形对沼泽如何、何时和在哪里向内陆撤退的影响。该项目将通过让大量本科生参与实地工作、设计和实施一个新的实地教学实验室以及一个新的实地本科课程，从而产生广泛的教育影响。这项工作的教育方面旨在培养下一代地球科学家，以解决与沿海地区稳定有关的科学和社会问题。面向普通公众的非正式学习包括为南卡罗来纳大学艾肯·露丝·帕特里克科学和教育中心创建一个交互式数字信息亭，旨在提高公众对与海岸带对气候和土地利用变化的反应相关的环境和社会经济问题的认识。该项目的主要科学目标是量化对南卡罗来纳州ACE盆地内盐沼-森林连续体中沼泽水流、沉积和水停留时间的地形控制。沼泽-森林连续体包括天然盐沼、开垦的稻田沼泽或“农业沼泽”和农业-沼泽-森林交错带，允许以空间换时间的替代，以促进对不同沼泽类型和发展阶段的沼泽地貌控制的认识。假设沼泽地的人工排水有助于湿地系统内部和之间以及与邻近高地之间的地表水流的水力连通，从而增加淹没程度和停留时间，并影响森林-沼泽入侵的速度和模式。因此，该项目将有助于阐明农业沼泽景观作为应对海平面上升的内陆沼泽迁徙走廊的作用。将根据沼泽地形、排水结构、水力连通性和植被影响，对河道内和沼泽上的水流以及现代和历史上的沉积速率进行实地观测。将开发一个计算机模型，以预测盐沼对自然和人为强迫的响应，跨越地方和区域空间尺度，并在小时到数十年的时间尺度上。这些信息可用于支持沿海脆弱性模型，并有助于为与沼泽恢复和保护有关的政策和决策战略提供信息。该项目由地貌学和土地利用动态计划和既定的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Salt marshes remain the focus of intensive study due to their ecosystem functions (i.e. water storage, nutrient redistribution, and carbon sequestration) and in light of potential impacts of sea-level rise and coastal development on their overall stability. The ability of marshes to migrate inland as waters rise is considered a first-order determinant of their future survival. This project is specifically designed to determine the influence of subtle marsh topography on how, when, and where marshes retreat inland. This project will have broad educational impacts by engaging a large number of undergraduate students in field work, design and implementation of a new field teaching laboratory, and a new field-based undergraduate course. Educational aspects of this work are designed to prepare the next generation of geoscientists to address scientific and societal issues related to coastal zone stability. Informal learning for the general public includes the creation of an interactive digital kiosk for the University of South Carolina Aiken Ruth Patrick Science and Education Center designed to increase public awareness of environmental and socio-economic issues associated with coastal zone response to climate and land use change.The primary scientific objective of this project is to quantify the topographic controls on overmarsh flow, sedimentation, and water residence times across a salt marsh – forest continuum within the ACE Basin, SC. The marsh-forest continuum encompasses a natural salt marsh, a reclaimed rice field marsh or “ag-marsh”, and an ag-marsh-forest ecotone, allowing for a space-for-time substitution to advance knowledge on the geomorphic controls on marsh morphodynamics across various marsh types and stages of development. It is hypothesized that the artificial drainages of ag-marshes facilitate hydraulic connectivity of surface flows within and between marsh systems, and with neighboring uplands, thereby enhancing inundation extent and residence times, and influencing rates and patterns of forest-marsh transgression. Hence, this project will help illuminate the role of ag-marsh landscapes as corridors for inland marsh migration in response to sea-level rise. Field observations of in-channel and overmarsh flows, and modern and historic sedimentation rates will be evaluated in the context of marsh topography, drainage structure, hydraulic connectivity and vegetation effects. A computer model will be developed to predict salt marsh response to natural and anthropogenic forcing across local and regional spatial scales, and at hourly to multi-decadal time scales. Such information can be used to bolster coastal vulnerability models, and can help inform policy and decision making strategies related to marsh restoration and conservation. This project is jointly funded by the Geomorphology and Land-use Dynamics Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.