Christian Haller Christopher G. Smith Terrence A. McCloskey C. Scott Adams Marci E. Marot Alisha M. Ellis 20180417 tabular digital data U.S. Geological Survey Data Release doi.org/10.5066/F7445KSG St. Petersburg, FL U.S. Geological Survey https://doi.org/10.5066/F7445KSG Microfossil (benthic foraminifera) data from coastal areas were collected from state and federally managed lands within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Grand Bay, Mississippi/Alabama; federally managed lands of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on Cedar Island and Little Dauphin Island, Alabama; and municipally managed land around Dauphin Island, Alabama. Samples were analyzed and quantified for foraminiferal census in order to document changes to the coastal wetlands, estuarine environments, and to aid in paleoenvironmental reconstruction. These data provide a baseline dataset for use in future wetland change descriptive and predictive studies and assessments. The data presented here were collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Sea-level and Storm Impacts on Estuarine Environments and Shorelines (SSIEES) project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/ssiees), Barrier Island Evolution Research (BIER) project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/bier), and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation-funded Alabama Barrier Island Restoration Feasibility Study (a collaborative study between the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Mobile District; the State of Alabama; and the USGS [https://www.usgs.gov/centers/spcmsc/science/alabama-barrier-island-restoration-study]). These projects aim to assess ecological and societal vulnerability that results from long- and short-term physical changes to barrier islands and coastal wetlands. Two sampling surveys were conducted between 2014 and 2015: 14CCT01 (15–19 September 2014; 2014-323-FA), and 15BIM09 (18–20 August 2015; 2015-322-FA). During those two trips, seven Russian peat auger cores were taken from marsh locations. Three cores from Dauphin Island were subsampled and stained with rose Bengal (rB) in the field to indicate life. Four further cores from Dauphin Island and Grand Bay were not stained. At the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center all cores were subsampled resulting in a total of 74 subsamples. Samples were processed in the laboratory to four size fractions (63–125 μm, 125–250 μm, 250–850 μm, and >850 μm), of which the 125–250 μm and 250–850 μm fractions were picked at equal proportions of total sample and reported combined (125–850 μm). For additional information regarding foraminiferal collection and/or processing methods, refer to Ellis and others (2017). Further data collected on and surrounding Dauphin Island is presented in Ellis and others (2017) and Ellis and others (2018). Dissemination of benthic foraminiferal assemblage count data from subsurface sediment samples collected from eastern Mississippi Sound between September 2014 and August 2015. This dataset, MS_AL_Cores_XYZ.csv, includes processed coordinate and elevation data collected at each sample location. To ensure that USGS-St. Petersburg data management protocols were followed, each survey was assigned the following USGS field activity number (FAN): 2014-323-FA (September 2014, Project ID 14CCT01), and 2015-322-FA (August 2015, Project ID 15BIM09). Additional survey and data details are available from the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data System (CMGDS) at, http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/. 20140915 20150820 Ground condition Complete None planned -88.3979 -88.1100 30.3894 30.2532 ISO 19115 Topic Category geoscientificInformation location elevation biota oceans USGS Metadata Identifier USGS:b3d22766-4b2e-492d-ab45-c6e06900e1cf USGS Thesaurus geology ecology micropaleontology fossils protists unconsolidated deposits estuarine ecosystems None sediment salt marsh foraminifera microfossil U.S. Geological Survey USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Alabama Mississippi Mississippi Sound Gulf of Mexico Grand Bay Dauphin Island None The U.S. Geological Survey requests that it be acknowledged as the originator of this dataset in any future products or research derived from these data. U.S. Geological Survey Christopher G. Smith Research Geologist mailing and physical

600 4th Street South

St. Petersburg FL 33701 USA 727-502-8000 cgsmith@usgs.gov U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center Microsoft Windows 7 R2 Version 6.1 (Build 7601) Service Pack 1; Microsoft Excel Version 2010 Ellis, A.M. Shaw, J.E. Osterman, L.E. Smith, C.G. 20171128 U.S. Geological Survey Data Series Data Series 1060 https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1060 Ellis, A.M. Marot, M.E. Smith, C.G. Wheaton, C.J. 20170620 U.S. Geological Survey Data Series Data Series 1046 https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1046 Ellis, A.M. Smith, C.G. Marot, M.E. 20180322 U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report OFR2017-1165 https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171165 The positional accuracy of the sample locations was determined by the accuracy of the raw position data recorded by the GPS antenna during data collection. Differential Geographic Positioning System (DGPS) coordinates were obtained using post-processing software packages (National Geodetic Survey's On-Line Positioning User Service (OPUS), version 2.2 and Waypoint Product Group's GrafNav and GrafNet, version 8.30). This dataset contains the post-processed GPS and DGPS coordinates for samples collected during two separate surveys in 2014 and 2015. Sample locations were recorded at the time of collection using two Asthech Z-Extreme SMG-ZX-3 receivers (and others), one at a benchmark base-station and one roving in the field. This dataset includes the locations of 7 marsh sediment cores collected in Grand Bay (Mississippi) and Dauphin Island (Alabama). All static base station sessions were processed through the On-Line Positioning User Service (OPUS) maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), and the results were entered into a spreadsheet to compute a final, time-weighted positional coordinate (latitude, longitude, and ellipsoid height). Base station positional error for each GPS session was calculated as the absolute value of the final position minus the session position value. The maximum horizontal error of the base station coordinates used for post-processing the sample locations was 0.00018 seconds latitude and 0.00045 seconds longitude. All static base station sessions were processed through OPUS maintained by NOAA and the NGS. The base location results from OPUS were entered into a spreadsheet to compute a final, time-weighted positional coordinate (latitude, longitude, and ellipsoid height). Base station positional error for each GPS session was calculated as the absolute value of the final position minus the session position value. For this survey, the standard deviation or the base station ellipsoid height was 0.014 meters (m) and the maximum vertical error for the base station was +/- 0.015 m. All sample locations were post-processed to the base station coordinate. A GPS base station was erected for each sampling survey at a NGS benchmark located closest to the survey's sampling sites. DGPS receivers recorded the 12-channel full-carrier-phase positioning signals (L1/L2) from satellites via the Thales choke ring antenna on the base station and an Ashtech Geodetic antenna on the rover. This DGPS instrument combination was duplicated on the rover unit. The base station receiver and the rover receiver record their positions concurrently at 1-second (s) recording intervals throughout the survey. Occupation times at the sample sites ranged from 5 to 30 minutes. 2012 U.S. Geological Survey Nancy DeWitt Geologist mailing and physical

600 4th Street South

St. Petersburg FL 33701 USA (727) 502-8000 ndewitt@usgs.gov The coordinate values of the GPS base station are the time-weighted average of values obtained from OPUS. The base station coordinates were imported into GrafNav and GrafNet (Waypoint Product Group) and the GPS data from the rover were post-processed to the concurrent GPS session data at the base station. The GPS data were processed and exported in the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84) (G1150) geodetic datum. 2012 U.S. Geological Survey Nancy DeWitt Geologist mailing and physical

600 4th Street South

St. Petersburg FL 33701 USA (727) 502-8000 ndewitt@usgs.gov Sample locations were transformed from the GPS acquisition datum (WGS84) to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88) orthometric elevation (geoid model of 2012, GEOID12A) using NOAA VDatum version 3.3 transformation software (http://vdatum.noaa.gov/). 2013 U.S. Geological Survey Nancy DeWitt Geologist mailing and physical

600 4th Street South

St. Petersburg FL 33701 USA (727) 502-8000 Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. 20201013 U.S. Geological Survey VeeAnn A. Cross Marine Geologist mailing and physical

384 Woods Hole Road

Woods Hole MA 02543-1598 508-548-8700 x2251 508-457-2310 vatnipp@usgs.gov Vector Point 7 0.0197873567 0.0228037225 Decimal degrees North American Datum 1983 Geodectic Reference System 80 6378137.0 298.257222101 North American Vertical Datum of 1988 0.001 meters Attribute values MS_AL_Cores_XYZ.csv Comma separated values text file defining the station locations and elevations of benthic foraminifera sediment cores collected from Grand Bay (Mississippi) and Dauphin Island (Alabama) (USGS FANs 2014-323-FA and 2015-322-FA). USGS Core_ID Sediment core identifier, grouped by project name. The core ID naming scheme explanation is as follows: "14CCT01" = USGS project name. Prefix: "GB" = Grand Bay, "DA" = Dauphin island. Suffix: "R" = Russian peat auger. Replicate core suffix (if replicate collected): "FA". USGS Character string Lat_NAD83 Latitude of station location, in decimal degrees (NAD83) USGS 30.25321 30.38936 Decimal degrees 0.00001 Long_NAD83 Longitude of site location, in decimal degrees (NAD83) USGS -88.39787 -88.109994 Decimal degrees 0.000001 Horiz_error_(m) Error of horizontal measurement of station location, in meters (GEOID 12A). N/A = not applicable USGS 0.001 0.002 Meters 0.001 Elev_NAVD88_(m) Elevation (orthometric height) of station location, in meters (GEOID 12A). N/A = not applicable USGS 0.0963 0.2645 Meters 0.0001 Elev_error_(m) Error of calculated elevation (orthometric height) of station location, in meters (GEOID 12A). N/A = not applicable USGS 0.002 0.0164 Meters 0.0001 Base_station_PID Geodetic benchmark permanent identifier. N/A = not applicable USGS Character string U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center Christopher G. Smith Research Geologist mailing and physical

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St. Petersburg FL 33701 USA 727-502-8000 cgsmith@usgs.gov MS_AL_Cores_XYZ.csv This 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, or for general or scientific purposes, 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. Compressed (zip) archive 2017 Tabular data This zip archive includes a comma separated values files, and accompanying metadata for xyz coordinate and elevation data obtained from GPS equipment collected from Grand Bay and Dauphin Island salt marshes during 14CCT01 (15–19 September 2014; 2014-323-FA), and 15BIM09 (18–20 August 2015; 2015-322-FA). Unzip https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/data-release/doi-F7445KSG/data/MS_AL_Cores_XYZ.zip None The comma separated file (.csv) was created in Microsoft Excel 2010 and can be opened using Microsoft Excel 2007 or higher; these data may also be viewed using the free Microsoft Excel Viewer (http://office.microsoft.com/). 20230927 U.S. Geological Survey Christopher G. Smith Research Geologist mailing and physical

600 4th Street South

St. Petersburg FL 33701 USA 727-502-8000 cgsmith@usgs.gov Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001-1998 None Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. None Unclassified None