Using fossilized charcoal to corroborate the Everglades fire history geodatabase

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What does this data set describe?

Title:
Using fossilized charcoal to corroborate the Everglades fire history geodatabase
Abstract:
Fire in the Everglades National Park (ENP) has historically been influential in shaping the Everglades ecosystem. As a result, ENP has been documenting fire events since 1948, and these data have been incorporated into an Esri ArcGIS geodatabase (Smith, T.J. III, and others, 2015). According to this geodatabase, 757,078 hectares of wetlands burned from 1948 to 2011. The main type of vegetation that has burned is comprised of palustrine and estuarine wetlands; however, there are areas in ENP that are comprised of these wetlands but have no documented fire events. Consequently, scientists at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center question the accuracy of the data in this geodatabase. The abundance of fossil charcoal in sediment cores has been used, historically, as a fire proxy so to test the accuracy of this data, USGS scientists examined fossil charcoal in sediment cores taken from six locations in ENP. Two of the cores were taken from areas with well-documented fire events and four cores where taken from areas with no documented fire events. USGS scientists also dated three of the cores using excess Lead-210 (210Pb). Based on charcoal abundance in these cores, USGS scientists were able to verify documented fire events in the geodatabase. Furthermore, the presence of fossil charcoal in cores from areas with no documented fire events indicate that fire events did, in fact, occur in these areas in 1948-1964 and 1950-1980. These findings indicate the presence of fire events that are undocumented in the Esri geodatabase and suggest that 210Pb-dating is a promising method for reconstructing a regional fire history.
Supplemental_Information:
This publication contains data for two field activities conducted in 2009 and 2013. Field Activity Number (FAN) 09LME01 occurred between July 20 and 24, 2009 (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=09LME01) and FAN 13LME01 from May 6 – May 8, 2013 (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=13LME01).
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Tiling-Range, Ginger, 20170802, Using fossilized charcoal to corroborate the Everglades fire history geodatabase: U.S. Geological Survey Data Release doi:10.5066/F7VM49G3, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Tiling-Range, Ginger, Smith, Thomas J. III, Foster, Ann M., Smoak, Joseph M., and Breithaupt, Joshua L., 20190802, Utilizing fossilized charcoal to augment the Everglades National Park Fire History Geodatabase: Journal of Environmental Management, New York, NY.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -81.004959857
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -80.799153884
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 25.418556739
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 25.316787508
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 1948
    Ending_Date: 2011
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Entity point (58)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Fire_cores.csv
    CSV table containing sediment core details, charcoal abundance and 210Pb ages (Source: USGS)
    Latitude
    Latitude (WGS84) (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:25.316750
    Maximum:25.42126
    Units:Decimal Degrees
    Longitude
    Longitude (WGS84) (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-81.0599
    Maximum:-80.6479
    Units:Decimal Degrees
    Date collected
    Date of sediment core collection (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:7/22/2009
    Maximum:5/8/2013
    Units:dates
    Core ID
    Name of sediment core collected (Source: USGS) MPR West 1, MPR West 2, OIH SE, S5 WSC8B, SH2M2 WSC2b, Tarpon1
    Depth cm
    The depth of the sediment core sample (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:16
    Units:cm
    Status
    Denotes if the core was taken from an area with documented historic fire events (Burned) or no documented historic events (Not burned) (Source: USGS) Burned, not burned
    No. of small charcoal pieces less than 63 um
    The number of small charcoal particles found at each depth interval (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:1252
    Units:count or abundance
    No. of medium charcoal pieces less than 125 um
    The number of medium charcoal particles found at each depth interval (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:615
    Units:count or abundance
    No. of large charcoal pieces less than 250 um
    The number of large charcoal particles found at each depth interval (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:322
    Units:count or abundance
    Total no. of charcoal pieces
    The number of total charcoal particles found at each depth interval (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:1971
    Units:count or abundance
    Pb-210_age
    Age of sediment interval at depth based on Lead-210 dating. If the sample was not dated, that is denoted as "Not done". (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1876
    Maximum:2013
    Units:years

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Ginger Tiling-Range
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Ginger Tiling-Range
    U.S. Geological Survey
    600 4Th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8081 (voice)
    gtrange@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

Sediment cores in Everglades National Park were taken to study fossil charcoal abundance to validate the fire geodatabase and to aid in historic fire history reconstruction.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2013 (process 1 of 9)
    Six sediment cores were collected from Everglades National Park (ENP) in July 2009 and May 2013, using a Russian Peat Corer. Sediment collected in the Russian Peat Corer was transferred to half-sectioned 50-centimeter (cm) PVC tubes. These tubes were sealed in plastic and labeled according to site location name. Four of the cores were taken from areas that have no record of fire (SH2M2 WSC2B, Tarpon 1, MPR West 1, OIH SE) and two cores were taken from areas with well-documented fire history (SH5 WSC8B, MPR West 2). Cores MPR West 1, OIH SE and MPR West 2 contained a mixture of peat and marl sediment whereas cores SH2M2 WSC2B, SH5 WSC8B and Tarpon 1 were highly organic peat with no marl. These cores were transferred to the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center and were refrigerated for preservation prior to laboratory processing. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Ginger Tiling-Range
    Geologist/GIS Specialist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8081 (voice)
    gtrange@usgs.gov
    Date: 2014 (process 2 of 9)
    Two cubic centimeters (cc) of sediment was subsampled down all six cores every two cm. Each subsample was placed into a 400 ml beaker and placed under a fume hood for the next processing step for charcoal analysis. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Ginger Tiling-Range
    Geologist/GIS Specialist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8081 (voice)
    gtrange@usgs.gov
    Date: 2014 (process 3 of 9)
    To remove organic material that obscured visualization of charcoal from the peat samples (SH2M2 WSC2B, SH5 WSC8B and Tarpon 1), 200 ml of 20% Hydrogen peroxide (H202) was poured into beakers containing the peat subsamples and placed on a hot late at 50C (degrees Celsius). These samples were left in the solution, under a fume hood, until the organics were no longer visible and charcoal was easily visualized. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Ginger Tiling-Range
    Geologist/GIS Specialist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8081 (voice)
    gtrange@usgs.gov
    Date: 2014 (process 4 of 9)
    To remove calcite marl that obscured visualization of charcoal from samples containing marl and peat (MPR West 1, OIH SE and MPR West 2), 200 ml of 1 Normal Hydrochloric acid (1N HCl) was poured into beakers containing the marl/peat subsamples and placed on a hot plate at 50C. These samples were left in the solution, under a fume hood, until the marl was no longer visible. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Ginger Tiling-Range
    Geologist/GIS Specialist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8081 (voice)
    gtrange@usgs.gov
    Date: 2014 (process 5 of 9)
    Following the 1N HCl treatment to remove the marl, the marl/peat subsamples(MPR West 1, OIH SE and MPR West 2) were placed in 200 ml of 20% H202 on a hot plate at 50C to remove the remaining organic material. These samples were left in the solution, under a fume hood, until the organics were no longer visible and that charcoal was easily visualized. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Ginger Tiling-Range
    Geologist/GIS Specialist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8081 (voice)
    gtrange@usgs.gov
    Date: 2014 (process 6 of 9)
    After all six samples were treated with H2O2 or HCl, they were sieved through 250, 125, and 63 micron(µm) sediment sieves. The resulting sieved material was then placed in petri dishes, labeled according to core identification (ID), depth and sieve size, then placed under a fume hood to dry for two to three days. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Ginger Tiling-Range
    Geologist/GIS Specialist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8081 (voice)
    gtrange@usgs.gov
    Date: 2014 (process 7 of 9)
    Once all the organic and marl material had been removed from the samples, a paper-counting grid was created for counting charcoal particles and was subsequently placed under a petri dish containing the subsampled sediments. The number of charcoal particles in each grid cell were visualized and counted using a stereomicroscope. Charcoal was classified in each sample into three size classes: small (63 µµm), medium (125 µm) and large (250 µm). These classes were based on the sediment sieve size. The count for each size class was then entered into a Microsoft Excel 2010 workbook. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Ginger Tiling-Range
    Geologist/GIS Specialist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8080 (voice)
    gtrange@usgs.gov
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • SH2M2 WSC2B.xlsx
    • SH5 WSC8B.xlsx
    • Tarpon 1.xlsx
    • MPR West 1.xlsx
    • OIH SE.xlsx
    • MPR West 2.xlsx
    Date: 2014 (process 8 of 9)
    Prior to charcoal analysis processing, sediment from SH2M2 WSC2B, Tarpon 1 and SH5 WSC8B cores were collected every 2 cm for age-dating. Gama activities measurements were made using an intrinsic germanium detector coupled to a multi-channel analyzer. Freeze dried and ground sediments were packed and sealed in gamma tubes for 21 days. Activity for 210Pb was measured using the 46.5 Kiloectronvolt (keV) peak and Radium-226 (226Ra) by using Lead-214 (214Pb) (351.9 keV peak) as its proxy. Dates have been calculated following the Constant Rate of Supply (CRS) model. The results from this age-dating were used to date the 2 cm sample intervals in the peat cores. Person who carried out this activity:
    University of South Florida
    Attn: Joseph M. (Donny) Smoak
    Professor
    140 7th Avenue South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 873-4078 (voice)
    smoak@mail.usf.edu
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Pb-210 Dates_WSC 2B 8B.xlsx
    • SH5_WSC8b_Pb_210.xlsx
    • TAR-1 CRS-B well 1.xlsx
    Date: 13-Oct-2020 (process 9 of 9)
    Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Thomas J. Smith III, Ann M. Foster, and John W. Jones, 2015, Fire History of Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve, Southern Florida: U.S. Geological Survey, Gainesville, FL.

    Online Links:

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Dataset is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. The U.S. Geological Survey requests to be acknowledged as originator of these data in future products or derivative research.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Ginger Tiling-Range
    U. S. Geological Survey
    600 4Th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8081 (voice)
    gtrange@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    This digital publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution imply any such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and (or) contained herein. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 24-Feb-2021
Metadata author:
Ginger T Range
U.S. Geological Survey, SOUTHEAST REGION
Geologist / GIS Specialist
600 4Th Street South
St. Petersburg, FL
USA

727-502-8081 (voice)
727-502-8182 (FAX)
gtrange@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/Fire_history_cores.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Tue Sep 21 18:18:49 2021