Potential Long Term Monitoring Sites

 

Site Name and General Location

Site Name:                                                 Georgia Coastal Ecosystems - Sapelo Island Marsh Complex

State, Country, ETC:                                 Georgia, USA                                                                         

USGS Quad Name (if applicable):          Ridgeville, Doboy Sound, Cabretta Inlet, Shellman Bluff,

                                                                    Sapelo 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 29 00 N)              

               Longitude in deg/min/sec:                (geographic center of polygon: 81 17 15 W)             

 

For a non-circular site:

               NE Corner

               Latitude in deg/min/sec:                   31 33 00 N                                                                      

               Longitude in deg/min/sec:                81 08 30 W                                                                     

 

               SE Corner

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

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

 

               SW Corner

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

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

 

               NW Corner

               Latitude in deg/min/sec:                   31 33 00 N                                                                      

               Longitude in deg/min/sec:                81 20 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.

This proposed monitoring site includes Sapelo Island and the associated cordgrass marsh complex             

between Sapelo and the mainland.  This represents a highly productive and dynamic ecosystem     

which has been the focus of ecological research since the 1950’s.  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, sand dune, sand beach, sand bluff, salt flat                               

 

 

Are there management issues associated with the site?

The area is experiencing residential and recreational 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 (Four Mile Island, North Sapelo,

Meridian, Folly River, Moses Hammock Hunt Camp), as well as long term sites used by the         

University of Georgia Marine Institute.  It also contains the Richard J. Reynolds State Wildlife    

Refuge, Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge, and portions of the Sapelo Island National   

Estuarine Research Reserve.                                                                                                                    

 

 

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/).  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 northeastern domain of the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Site, and               

also contains University of Georgia Marine Institute/Sapelo Island National Research Reserve     

monitoring sites.  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.