Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Gulf Coast CESU

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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC), Lafayette, LA is offering a funding opportunity to advance our understanding of the interaction of hurricane storm overwash and surge tide impacts by reconstructing historical hydrological conditions and coupling with associated coastal forest settings, tide and streamflow records, and accretion rates and salinity of forest soils of East Coast DOI parks and refuges impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Field and laboratory contributions related to soil age and salinization is needed to support a forest damage assessment study of Hurricane Sandy wind and storm surge impact on coastal forested ecosystems of the Atlantic Coast. Unique isotopic dating methods, in particular, are needed to process field samples and ultimately couple the historical conditions of climate, tide, streamflow, and wetland soils to relate the timing and landfall characteristics of Hurricane Sandy and past storms on marsh/forest soil development and accretion. Specialized expertise and equipment is needed to isolate carbon and cesium isotopes, specifically, for the benefit of coupling storm tide and other climate factors with soil salinization and accretion rates and processes. This project requires mutual cooperation of advanced computing, geographic information systems (GIS), programming advancements, and isotopic dating methods as well as technical and subject matter expertise for frequent and coordinated field trips. Frequent interaction and close collaboration between cooperating institutions will be required co-process and exchange samples to minimize risk of contamination or deterioration.

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