SENTINEL SITES: A NATIONAL NETWORK TO MONITOR SEA-LEVEL IMPACTS

Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Conference

November 7th, 2013, San Diego, CA

Outline

The Sentinel Site framework Sentinel Site Cooperatives Development and Applications

of “Sentinel Sites” concept

Sentinel Site Framework Regional network of places

where we can ask and answer questions of local, regional, and national importance

Operational capacity for intensive study

Defined user communities Sustained observations Detect and understand changes

in the ecosystems they represent.

Informed, enabled stakeholder communities

Sentinel Site Framework Partnering with others to

leverage existing resources and expertise

Coordination with partners to focus resources

Places are representative of larger landscape: canary in the coal mine or guard on the watchtower

Sentinel Sites : Local Responses to Global Change

A suite of services for understanding and responding to sea level change impacts on coastal ecosystems and surrounding communities.

Science Service Stewardship

Observe & Monitor

Applied Research

Models & Predictions

Spatial Analysis & Visualization

Information Transfer

Education & Outreach

Management & Decision Making

Sea Level Change Impacts Sea level change impacts are

far-reaching Significant impacts on people

and economies of coastal communities

Coastal decision-makers need local information to prepare & adapt to anticipated changes

Sentinel Site Cooperatives

Diversity of Sentinel Site Cooperatives

Urbanized Bay

Large Estuary

Barrier Islands

Archipelago

Rocky Coastline

Marshes Coral Reef

Chesapeake Bay

North Carolina

Northern Gulf of Mexico

San Francisco

Hawaiian Islands

NOAA Sentinel Site Program Partners

San Francisco BayNorthern Gulf of Mexico

Hawaiian IslandsNorth CarolinaChesapeake Bay

Sentinel Site Cooperative Assets

Sentinel

Site 1

Sentinel Site

2

SentinelSite

3

Community 1

Community 2

Community 3

National Estuarine Research Reserve System

NERRS Sentinel Site Program Initial focus on sea level

change impacts to wetland vegetation

Local geodetic control networks

Coupled physical and biological monitoring

Sea Level

Upland

Initial Wetland Surface

Bench Mark with Geodetic Control (NAVD88, etc.)

Surface Elevation Table (SET)Tide Gauge

Depth of SET measurement integration

Deep Subsidence

Subsided Wetland SurfaceRise

Shallow Subsidence

Marker Horizon

Surface Accretion

Elevation Change

Sea level rise is expressed with respect to upland vertical control

monuments

(unstable, dynamic wetland surfaces follow a different vertical trajectory compared to uplands)

Making level connections between water levels, SETs and uplands allows you to measure the sea level rise that the wetlands are experiencing; connection to uplands checks for mark stability

Geodetic connection assures known gauge stability

NERRS Sentinel Site Program Initial focus on sea level

change impacts to wetland vegetation

Local geodetic control networks

Coupled physical and biological monitoring

Nation-wide adoption of similar protocols

Geospatial infrastructure guidelines2013

NERRS Sentinel Site Program Initial focus on sea level

change impacts to wetland vegetation

Local geodetic control networks

Coupled physical and biological monitoring

Nation-wide adoption of similar protocols

Data Analyses Outreach products

Marie Bundy: NERRS Sentinel Site Program 1:30 pm San Diego

Scott Lerberg: NERRS SSP implementation 1:45 pm San Diego

Interagency collaboration/leveraging

Nearshore bathymetry & coastal elevations

Refined local sea level trends in western AK

Improvements to tidal & geodetic datum conversion tools

Rapid assessments of storm impacts on Alaska’s coastline

Nicole Kinsman: RSLR/Inundation in AK, 2:00 pm San Diego

National Park Service

NPS Sentinel Sites Bench marks and accurate heights to

monitor vulnerability to sea level rise and coastal inundation

“Sentinel Sites:” locations where park managers determine there are critical infrastructure, habitats, cultural sites, and populations of species of concern

Neil Winn: Assateague Island National Seashore 2: 45 pm San Diego

The Smithsonian Institution Tennenbaum Marine

Observatories Network Worldwide network of coastal

ecological field sites Standardized measurements

of biological change Understanding how marine

biodiversity is affected by local human activities and global change

Ocean warming, acidification and rising sea levels

Session Presentation: Marguerite Toscano, 2:15 pm San Diego

Sentinel Site monitoring of climate change in an urban estuary

Focus on climate change impacts to LIS ecosystems

Establish sentinels for early detection

Develop management strategies for adaptation and resilience

LONG ISLAND SOUND STUDYA PARTNERSHIP TO RESPORE AND PROTECT THE SOUND

Jason Krumholz: Sentinel Monitoring in an Urban Estuary, 9:45 am

Poplar Island Restoration Project

Restoration in the face of sea level rise Full suite of physical & biological

monitoring Partnering with academic research to

understand processes of functional wetland restoration

SENTINEL SITES: A NATIONAL NETWORK TO MONITOR SEA-LEVEL IMPACTS