Potential Long Term Monitoring Sites

 

Site Name and General Location

Site Name:                                                 Georgia Coastal Ecosystems - Altamaha Estuary Marsh Complex

State, Country, ETC:                                 Georgia, USA                                                                         

USGS Quad Name (if applicable):          Ridgeville, Doboy Sound, Darien, Altamaha Sound           

 

Site Point of Contact (POC) Information

POC Name:          Wade M. Sheldon Jr.                                                                                                   

POC Address:      School of Marine Programs, University of Georgia, Athens, GA  30602-3636  

POC Phone:         (706) 542-5955                                                                                                          

POC FAX:            (706) 542-5888                                                                                                          

POC E-mail:        sheldon@arches.uga.edu                                                                                            

 

NSF Note: This POC will only be relevant for the LTER sites. The others would likely be listed under a generic NSF POC.

 

Site Shape and Location

 

For a Circular Site or Point:            (note: a site with a nine nautical mile diameter is considered a point)

Diameter of Circular Site in Nautical Miles:                                                                                                        

Center Coordinates:

               Latitude in deg/min/sec:                   (geographic center of polygon: 31 21 00 N)              

               Longitude in deg/min/sec:                (geographic center of polygon: 81 23 15 W)             

 

For a non-circular site:

               NE Corner

               Latitude in deg/min/sec:                   31 25 00 N                                                                      

               Longitude in deg/min/sec:                81 14 30 W                                                                     

 

               SE Corner

               Latitude in deg/min/sec:                   31 17 00 N                                                                      

               Longitude in deg/min/sec:                81 20 30 W                                                                     

 

               SW Corner

               Latitude in deg/min/sec:                   31 17 00 N                                                                      

               Longitude in deg/min/sec:                81 32 00 W                                                                     

 

               NW Corner

               Latitude in deg/min/sec:                   31 25 00 N                                                                      

               Longitude in deg/min/sec:                81 26 00 W                                                                     

 

Elevation of Center Point in Meters:             0-1m                                                                                

 

 

Imagery Goals

 

Frequency of Collection: We would minimally like images collected every 6 months to permit   comparisons between high and low freshwater discharge periods, with additional images as possible.

 

When (time of day or season or whatever) should data be collected?     Preferred dates for            

collection are March (typical peak river discharge, deciduous leaf off) and September (typical     

minimum river discharge, deciduous leaf on), with other times as possible.                                      

 

Resolution needed from data (or scale needed): 2m resolution preferred to assess changes in      

vegetation, but 10-30m resolution would still be useful to assess landscape changes.                     

 

What is the impact of not collecting the data when requested?                                                             Minor deviations (e.g. 1-2 weeks)                                                          

would not be problematic, but major deviations (e.g. over 1 month) would potentially influence   

seasonal comparisons and render the observations less useful for monitoring studies.                    

 

 

Other Info Needed

 

Describe the things or phenomena to be monitored and the purpose of the monitoring. Include information about the duration needed for monitoring to be effective.

The Altamaha is one of the largest and least developed rivers on the east coast of the U.S.A.  This

proposed monitoring site includes the Altamaha estuary and associated cordgrass marsh complex --

a highly productive and dynamic ecosystem.  We would like to monitor changes in vegetation      

cover, biomass, primary productivity (aquatic and terrestrial environments), and shoreline profiles              (land/water interfaces) to examine long term patterns in response to changes in freshwater delivery           

to the coastal zone and patterns of land-use in and adjacent to the site.                                              

 

 

What ecosystems are present at the site?

estuary, tidal creek, salt marsh, marsh island, barrier island, oyster reef, muddy intertidal, lowland              

pine forest, mixed deciduous forest                                                                                                        

 

 

Are there management issues associated with the site?

Proposals are being considered to divert surface water from the Altamaha River for municipal use,

and the area is experiencing rapid residential development accompanied by land-use changes and

salt intrusion into the surficial aquifer.                                                                                                   

 

 

Is the site designated for special management or use (e.g. long term studies, specially reserved regions)?

The site encompasses 5 GCE LTER long term monitoring sites (Marsh Landing, Dean Creek,      

Carrs Island, Aligator Creek, Wolf Island), as well as long term sites used by the University of     

Georgia Marine Institute and Sapelo Island Microbial Observatory.  It also contains portions of the            

Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge, and    

Altamaha State Waterfowl Management Area.                                                                                       

 

 

Have previous monitoring activities been done at this site? If so, are data available in digital form?

Meteorological and hydrological monitoring are being performed by the University of Georgia   

Marine Institute/Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (digital data available at         http://www.sapeloislandreserve.org/).  Additional hydrological data have been collected by the     

Georgia Rivers LMER Project (digital data available at http://lmer.marsci.uga.edu/).  Digital data

will also be available in the future from Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER monitoring activities               

(http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/lter/).                                                                                                      

 

 

Describe any special characteristics of the site or the things or phenomena that are to be monitored (information that might help determine how it might be useful to monitor the things or phenomena at the site).

This site constitutes the southern domain of the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Site, and also              

contains the University of Georgia Marine Institute and Sapelo Island Microbial Observatory       

sampling sites (Doboy Sound and Dean Creek).  As such, it is the focus of numerous long term    

studies on salinity change, water transport, nutrient geochemistry, salt marsh ecology, invertebrate            

ecology, microbial diversity and productivity, primary productivity, and meteorology.  Information

obtained from remote sensing would provide a broader perspective to all of these studies.            

 

The sites are mapped below: