Potential Long Term Monitoring Sites

Site Name and General Location

Site Name: Georgia Coastal Ecosystems - Sapelo River Uplands

State, Country, ETC: Georgia, USA

USGS Quad Name (if applicable): Eulonia, Shellman Bluff, Ridgeville, Cox

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 27 45 W)

For a non-circular site:

NE Corner

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

Longitude in deg/min/sec: 81 20 00 W

SE Corner

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

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

SW Corner

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

Longitude in deg/min/sec: 81 35 30 W

NW Corner

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

Longitude in deg/min/sec: 81 29 30 W

Elevation of Center Point in Meters: <10m

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 the upper reaches of the Sapelo River, bordered by marsh

and mixed lowland forests. 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?

tidal creek, transitional marsh, pine forest, mixed deciduous forest

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 1 GCE LTER long term monitoring site (Eulonia).

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

Digital data will 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 northwestern domain of the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Site. As

such, it is the focus of 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.