USGS Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Chesapeake Watershed CESU Grant Opportunity

Saltwater intrusion is converting terrestrial land to
tidal wetlands along the United States coastal plain.
This sea-level driven land conversion results in
deleterious impacts to the Nation¿s natural resources in
the terrestrial portion of the coastal environments (e.g.
forest mortality, abandoned farmland), but also
represents a primary mechanism by which tidal wetlands
and their ecosystem services may survive sea level rise.
Research Scientists at PWRC have a wealth of knowledge
and data specific to an ongoing modeling study of tidal
saline wetland response to sea level rise. The research
in this opportunity will advance our understanding of the
response of tidal saline wetlands to sea level rise
through the use of empirical field data and modelling.
The goal of this collaborative research is to increase
our understanding of sea-level and storm driven land
conversion through a) spatially resolved predictions of
marsh migration, b) manipulative experiments, and c)
numerical model development and testing. These activities
strengthen USGS research on coastal vulnerability, tidal
wetland evolution, and Chesapeake Bay ecosystems.