Interpreting Sea Level Rise and Rates of Vertical Marsh Accretion in a Southern New England Tidal Salt Marsh

An investigation of marsh accretion rates on a New England type high marsh (Barn Island Wildlife Management Area, Stonington, Connecticut) reveals that this system is sensitive to changes in sea level and storm activity and the peat can accurately record rates of relative submergence as determined b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuarine, coastal and shelf science coastal and shelf science, 1998-10, Vol.47 (4), p.419-429
Main Authors: Orson, R.A., Warren, R.S., Niering, W.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
cesium-137
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Isotope geochemistry
Isotope geochemistry. Geochronology
Marine and continental quaternary
marsh accretion
sea level rise
southern New England
Spartina patens
Surficial geology
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Summary:An investigation of marsh accretion rates on a New England type high marsh (Barn Island Wildlife Management Area, Stonington, Connecticut) reveals that this system is sensitive to changes in sea level and storm activity and the peat can accurately record rates of relative submergence as determined by tide gauge records over intervals of 2–5 decades. The results also suggest that the relationship between the accretion deficit and plant community structure is important when utilizing peat records to reconstruct historic sea-level curves within stableSpartina patenshigh marsh communities. In systems where major vegetation changes are prominent over short periods of time (
ISSN:0272-7714
1096-0015
DOI:10.1006/ecss.1998.0363