Estuarine Shoreline, Upland Boundary, and Marsh Habitat Change Analyses for the Point Aux Chenes and Grand Bay Estuary Systems, Mississippi and Alabama

Coastal marshes across the Northern Gulf of Mexico are critical ecosystems, providing wildlife habitat, nursery for many species of fish, a carbon sink, and protection of communities from storm surge, but are vulnerable to coastal hazards, such as wave attack, sea level rise, and subsidence. While many marshes accrete vertically to compensate for rising sea level, marsh loss can occur through shoreline exposure to waves and lateral shoreline erosion. However, marsh migration (marsh transgression into upland habitats) may compensate for marsh shoreline erosion. Past marsh upland boundary and shoreline change trends are crucial data for understanding the processes driving erosion and migration and evaluating the overall health and vulnerability of coastal marshes to future scenarios of sea-level rise, climate change, and the global carbon budget.

The data presented in this data release include 1) 1848-2023 shoreline change analysis (vectorized marsh shorelines, shorepoints, and transects with shoreline change rates), 2) 1848-2022 upland boundary change analysis (vectorized upland boundary lines, boundary points, and transects with boundary change rates), 3) raster data for marsh habitat change analysis (1848, 1957/58, and 2019/22 rasters as well as 1848-1957/58, 1848-2019/22, and 1957/58-2019/22 change rasters), and 4) waves, fetch, and associated shoreline change rates for the Point Aux Chenes and Grand Bay estuary systems in Mississippi and Alabama, including the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge.