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Surface Elevation Table Measurements Along the Atlantic Seaboard, 2026 Cumulative Data Package

Published by National Park Service | Department of the Interior | Metadata Last Checked: January 30, 2026 | Last Modified: 2026-01-28T00:00:00Z
The National Park Service (NPS) in response to the growing evidence and awareness of the effects of climate change on federal lands determined that monitoring wetland elevation change is a top priority in Atlantic coastal parks. As a result several NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division (IMD) Networks in collaboration with colleagues from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have developed a protocol for monitoring wetland elevation change and other processes important for determining the viability of coastal wetland communities. These data consist of measurements made using the Surface Elevation Table (SET) and Marker Horizon techniques at five NPS Inventory and Monitoring Networks across the Atlantic seaboard: the Northeast Temperate Network (NETN) the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN) the National Capital Region Network (NCRN) the Southeast Coast Network (SECN) and the South Florida/Caribbean Network (SFCN). The mean elevation of salt marsh surfaces must increase to keep pace with the annual rise in sea level and subsidence of organic substrates in salt marshes and mangrove forests. If the sedimentation rates in a salt marsh or mangrove forest do not equal or exceed the net loss in elevation due to the steady increase in sea level and soil subsidence it will drown . When a coastal wetland drowns the surface of the wetland becomes sub-tidal which can cause drastic habitat changes such as the conversion of vegetated salt marsh or mangrove forest to unvegetated mud flat. Understanding changes in relative elevation is important for interpreting changes in coastal wetland vegetation communities. Coastal wetland erosion and accretion are also important parameters for measuring the response of formerly impounded wetlands to restoration of tidal influence and will be particularly critical if the rate of sea level rise accelerates as predicted. This project is also part of a worldwide effort to monitor sea level rise with surface elevation tables (SETs) and artificial marker horizons. These two techniques measure elevation change and accretion on salt marsh surfaces. Monitoring Objectives: Determine long term trends in coastal wetland elevation at selected sites in NPS park units and factors contributing to the observed changes. This data package contains a cumulative record of all monitoring data collected at IMD park units through the most recent field season and is organized into six (6) datasets: event_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - sample event-level data including date time location type of data collected etc. pin_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - marsh surface elevation data collected using the SET instrument. marker_horizon_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - marsh sediment accretion data collected by sampling marker horizon plots using liquid nitrogen or mechanical coring techniques. pin_group_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - description of all sets of pins used during data collection using the SET instrument including lengths diameters and materials. station_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - precise location data and descriptive information for all SET stations. critical_information_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - summary table containing information on any deviations from Standard Operating Procedures that may affect comparison of data across time at a given station (e.g. significant storm events). Note that the date at the end of each data file represents the date that the dataset was published.

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ACAD ASIS Acadia National Park Assateague Island National Seashore BISC BOHA Biscayne National Park Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area CACO CAHA CALO CANA COLO CUIS Canaveral National Seashore Cape Cod National Seashore Cape Hatteras National Seashore Cape Lookout National Seashore Colonial National Historical Park Cumberland Island National Seashore FIIS FOFR FOMA FOPU Fire Island National Seashore Fort Frederica National Monument Fort Matanzas National Monument Fort Pulaski National Monument GATE GWMP Gateway National Recreation Area George Washington Memorial Parkway Marine Features and Processes NACE NCBN NCRN NETN National Capital Parks-East National Capital Region Network National Park Service Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network Northeast Temperate Network SARI SECN SET SFCN Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve South Florida/Caribbean Network Southeast Coast Network TIMU Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve VIIS Virgin Islands National Park accretion elevation geology mangroves marker horizon marsh monitoring salt marsh sediment elevation table sedimentation soil soil elevation table vital signs

Complete Metadata
accessLevel public
bureauCode 
                                            [
  "010:24"
]
contactPoint 
                                            {
  "fn": "NPS IRMA Help",
  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:NRSS_DataStore@nps.gov"
}
description The National Park Service (NPS) in response to the growing evidence and awareness of the effects of climate change on federal lands determined that monitoring wetland elevation change is a top priority in Atlantic coastal parks. As a result several NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division (IMD) Networks in collaboration with colleagues from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have developed a protocol for monitoring wetland elevation change and other processes important for determining the viability of coastal wetland communities. These data consist of measurements made using the Surface Elevation Table (SET) and Marker Horizon techniques at five NPS Inventory and Monitoring Networks across the Atlantic seaboard: the Northeast Temperate Network (NETN) the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN) the National Capital Region Network (NCRN) the Southeast Coast Network (SECN) and the South Florida/Caribbean Network (SFCN). The mean elevation of salt marsh surfaces must increase to keep pace with the annual rise in sea level and subsidence of organic substrates in salt marshes and mangrove forests. If the sedimentation rates in a salt marsh or mangrove forest do not equal or exceed the net loss in elevation due to the steady increase in sea level and soil subsidence it will drown . When a coastal wetland drowns the surface of the wetland becomes sub-tidal which can cause drastic habitat changes such as the conversion of vegetated salt marsh or mangrove forest to unvegetated mud flat. Understanding changes in relative elevation is important for interpreting changes in coastal wetland vegetation communities. Coastal wetland erosion and accretion are also important parameters for measuring the response of formerly impounded wetlands to restoration of tidal influence and will be particularly critical if the rate of sea level rise accelerates as predicted. This project is also part of a worldwide effort to monitor sea level rise with surface elevation tables (SETs) and artificial marker horizons. These two techniques measure elevation change and accretion on salt marsh surfaces. Monitoring Objectives: Determine long term trends in coastal wetland elevation at selected sites in NPS park units and factors contributing to the observed changes. This data package contains a cumulative record of all monitoring data collected at IMD park units through the most recent field season and is organized into six (6) datasets: event_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - sample event-level data including date time location type of data collected etc. pin_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - marsh surface elevation data collected using the SET instrument. marker_horizon_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - marsh sediment accretion data collected by sampling marker horizon plots using liquid nitrogen or mechanical coring techniques. pin_group_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - description of all sets of pins used during data collection using the SET instrument including lengths diameters and materials. station_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - precise location data and descriptive information for all SET stations. critical_information_data_YYYYMMDD.csv - summary table containing information on any deviations from Standard Operating Procedures that may affect comparison of data across time at a given station (e.g. significant storm events). Note that the date at the end of each data file represents the date that the dataset was published.
distribution 
                                            [
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "pin_group_data_20260128.csv",
    "format": "csv",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "description": "Description of pin sets used during SET data collection",
    "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/754697?Reference=2316550"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "20260128_SET_metadata.xml",
    "format": "xml",
    "mediaType": "application/xml",
    "description": "EML Metadata",
    "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/754699?Reference=2316550"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "event_data_20260128.csv",
    "format": "csv",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "description": "Event-level data regarding date, time, location, methods, etc.",
    "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/754694?Reference=2316550"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "critical_information_data_20260128.csv",
    "format": "csv",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "description": "Event-level information that could affect long-term comparisons",
    "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/754693?Reference=2316550"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "marker_horizon_data_20260128.csv",
    "format": "csv",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "description": "Marsh sediment accretion data collected by coring marker horizon plots",
    "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/754695?Reference=2316550"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "pin_data_20260128.csv",
    "format": "csv",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "description": "Marsh surface elevation data collected using the SET instrument",
    "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/754696?Reference=2316550"
  },
  {
    "@type": "dcat:Distribution",
    "title": "station_data_20260128.csv",
    "format": "csv",
    "mediaType": "text/csv",
    "description": "Precise location data and descriptive information for all SET stations",
    "downloadURL": "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/754698?Reference=2316550"
  }
]
identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/NPS_DataStore_2316550
issued 2026-01-28T00:00:00Z
keyword 
                                            [
  "ACAD",
  "ASIS",
  "Acadia National Park",
  "Assateague Island National Seashore",
  "BISC",
  "BOHA",
  "Biscayne National Park",
  "Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area",
  "CACO",
  "CAHA",
  "CALO",
  "CANA",
  "COLO",
  "CUIS",
  "Canaveral National Seashore",
  "Cape Cod National Seashore",
  "Cape Hatteras National Seashore",
  "Cape Lookout National Seashore",
  "Colonial National Historical Park",
  "Cumberland Island National Seashore",
  "FIIS",
  "FOFR",
  "FOMA",
  "FOPU",
  "Fire Island National Seashore",
  "Fort Frederica National Monument",
  "Fort Matanzas National Monument",
  "Fort Pulaski National Monument",
  "GATE",
  "GWMP",
  "Gateway National Recreation Area",
  "George Washington Memorial Parkway",
  "Marine Features and Processes",
  "NACE",
  "NCBN",
  "NCRN",
  "NETN",
  "National Capital Parks-East",
  "National Capital Region Network",
  "National Park Service",
  "Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network",
  "Northeast Temperate Network",
  "SARI",
  "SECN",
  "SET",
  "SFCN",
  "Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve",
  "South Florida/Caribbean Network",
  "Southeast Coast Network",
  "TIMU",
  "Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve",
  "VIIS",
  "Virgin Islands National Park",
  "accretion",
  "elevation",
  "geology",
  "mangroves",
  "marker horizon",
  "marsh",
  "monitoring",
  "salt marsh",
  "sediment elevation table",
  "sedimentation",
  "soil",
  "soil elevation table",
  "vital signs"
]
landingPage https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2316550
license http://www.usa.gov/publicdomain/label/1.0/
modified 2026-01-28T00:00:00Z
programCode 
                                            [
  "010:118",
  "010:119"
]
publisher 
                                            {
  "name": "National Park Service",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
spatial -81.6928,17.7578,-64.6774,44.4298
temporal 1998-10-14/2025-12-10
theme 
                                            [
  "Data Package"
]
title Surface Elevation Table Measurements Along the Atlantic Seaboard, 2026 Cumulative Data Package

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