Project Title
Integrating multi-scale observations, machine learning and systems modeling for coastal Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction (Coast-MAP) in the context of multiple stresses
Abstract
As a part of the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama’s coastal zone has been experiencing multiple changes in climate and land use/land cover (LULC), which have placed multiple stresses on the coastal marine ecosystems resulting in altered freshwater discharge and elevated nutrient loads to coastal waters, increased water temperatures, reductions in dissolved oxygen concentrations, and changes in pH driven by ocean acidification, etc. Meanwhile, the Alabama coast’s physical configuration increases the probability for storm surge to be funneled into the bay. Because most of these stress factors are closely associated with human activities on land and watershed, it is critical to assess impacts of climate change and land use change on ecosystem health and water resource in the coastal watersheds.
To mitigate the climatic and anthropogenic impact, the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) has established a collaborative platform for stakeholders to work toward the conservation management of Alabama’s estuarine waters. The program has achieved noteworthy progresses during the past two decades, including increasing data available (remote sensing and monitoring), establishment of a comprehensive monitoring system and a better understanding ecological benefits of the coastal ecosystems. Nevertheless, knowledge gaps persist as stated in their Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan as the key issues, such as improving understanding of the control of hydrological flow and the related nutrient loading, and expanding monitoring and modeling the water quality of the upstream area (upstream into the Mobile-Tombigbee and Alabama River watersheds) (MBNEP, 2019). This project seeks to integrate new approaches with the existing monitoring system for assessing and predicting multiple stress impacts on Alabama’s Gulf Coast (ALGC).
Building on our previous research along the U.S. coastal regions, this work developed an interdisciplinary framework-Coastal MAP that integrates multi-scale observations, machine learning and systems modeling for Monitoring, Assessing and Predicting (MAP) impacts of climate change and land use on water resource, ecosystem health and social vulnerability in the study area. Included in this effort was an extensive examination of headwater wetlands, a ubiquitous feature on the coastal Alabama landscape.
Purpose
DOI:
Suggested Citation
Related Publication Citation
- Fisher, K. 2024. Using Functional Assessment and Mapping Tools to Evaluate Headwater Slope Wetlands in Coastal Alabama . M.S. Thesis, Auburn University, Auburn, AL.
Attribution
This project was paid for [in part] with federal funding for the Alabama Center of Excellence from the Department of the Treasury under the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act) in cooperation with the State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources under the Alabama Center of Excellence Program at the MESC/Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
ALCOE Grant#: MESC-ALCOE-06
