Estuaries past, present and future: Using elevations and historical maps to characterize estuarine habitats across 30 National Estuarine Research Reserves

NOAA Science Seminar Series

Title: Estuaries past, present and future: Using elevations and historical maps to characterize estuarine habitats across 30 National Estuarine Research Reserves 

Presenters: 

• Kerstin Wasson, Research Coordinator, Elkhorn Slough NERR

• Charlie Endris, GIS Specialist, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories

• Andrea Woolfolk, Stewardship Coordinator, Elkhorn Slough NERR

• Suzanne Shull, GIS Specialist, Padilla Bay NERR

Sponsor: This webinar is sponsored by the NERRS Science Collaborative

Seminar Contacts: Doug George (douglas.george@noaa.gov) or Nick Soberal (nsoberal@umich.edu) 

Location: Webinar

Remote Access: https://umich.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_33F-LjrSQpW6qE_1062QiA

Abstract
Estuaries are coastal gems. To protect and restore them, we need a clear understanding of exactly where they are, where they were, and where they could be in the future. A team led by the National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs) recently completed an ambitious effort to map estuarine habitat in and around the 30 NERRs.  They used a powerful combination of NOAA resources for elevation and tidal datums to map the reach of tides, historical topographic sheets generated by NOAA’s predecessor agency to map past habitat distributions, and compared this to mapping from USFWS’s National Wetland Inventory (NWI). 

Elevation-based mapping revealed that estuary extent is greater  than currently mapped in NWI. At more than two-thirds of the Reserves, the team detected tidal forests missed by NWI.  Comparison of historical maps to NWI revealed dramatically greater loss of tidal wetland extent on the Pacific coast than in other regions. The results of this investigation suggest that multiple mapping methods complement each other and should be integrated to provide a more accurate understanding of estuaries—past, present and future.

Bios: Please visit here for more information about the webinar.

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{Kerstin Wasson, Elkhorn Slough NERR, kerstin.wasson@gmail.com; Charlie Endris, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, charles.endris@sjsu.edu; Andrea Woolfolk, Elkhorn Slough NERR, amwoolfolk@gmail.com; Suzanne Shull, Padilla Bay NERR, sshull@padillabay.gov  }

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