Modeling marsh migration: User needs for decision-making collected in 2021 and 2023

Frequently anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How might this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
• How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How might this data set be cited?
   Kotowicz, Dawn M., Stoltz, Amanda D., and Woodard, Nina, 20250625, Modeling marsh migration: User needs for decision-making collected in 2021 and 2023: data release DOI:10.5066/P13JMCBZ, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P13JMCBZ
   • https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/67b8fc30d34e1a2e835b85a1

   Other_Citation_Details:

   Suggested citation: Kotowicz, D.M., Stoltz, A.D., and Woodard, N., 2025, Modeling marsh migration—User needs for decision-making collected in 2021 and 2023: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P13JMCBZ.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -180.0000
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: 180.0000
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 90.0000
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: -90.0000
   

3. What does it look like?
4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Beginning_Date: 2021

   Ending_Date: 2023

   Currentness_Reference:

   These data were collected during interviews that took place from March to July 2021 and in June 2023.

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?
      
   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      
7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

   These data are available in a Microsoft Excel XLSX file with two worksheets, one for each set of interview data. The first line of each sheet describes the source of the interview data. The interview data are categorized and listed below the first line, with each category highlighted in gray. The categories highlighted in grey are summarized from responses of participants in both projects surrounding the general topic of what types of decisions does the respondent make based upon marsh models or marsh modeling results for their work. Any results in the spreadsheets with quotations marks indicates a direct quote from a respondent, while those without quotations marks are a paraphrase of responses. All responses categorized according to their theme, respondents were not asked to comment on each theme so there are more responses in some topics than others.

   Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: U.S. Geological Survey
   

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • Dawn M. Kotowicz
   • Amanda D. Stoltz
   • Nina Woodard
2. Who also contributed to the data set?
3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Dawn M Kotowicz

   U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

   Research Social Scientist

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   508-548-8700 (voice)

   dkotowicz@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

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: Jul-2021 (process 1 of 3)

   Step 1: Collected interview data for the Marsh Model Retrospective initiative.
   Between March and July 2021, marsh model users were interviewed by Sarah Martin, Wetland Specialist, Mississippi State University for the Marsh Model Retrospective initiative. Interviewees were selected by snowball sampling decision makers connected to the Marsh Model Retrospective project. There were a series of topics about how users apply marsh modeling outputs in decision making but specific questions for each discussion differed. Interviewees were from all over the United States, and not specific to a single region. The respondents were marsh model users (n=10) including species managers, stewardship coordinators, researchers, land managers, and consultants. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Nina Woodward

   Program for Local Adaptation to Climate Effects: Sea-Level Rise (PLACE: SLR)

   Habitat Resilience Specialist

   1815 Popps Ferry Road

   Biloxi, MS
   

   228-388-4710 (voice)

   n.woodard@placeslr.org

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • Marsh Retrospective needs

   Date: Jun-2023 (process 2 of 3)

   Step 2: Collected interview data for the SAB project.
   During the SAB project, USGS research social scientists Dawn Kotowicz and Amanda Stoltz identified participants to participate in the project's Management Transition Advisory Committee (MTAG), comprised of marsh model users who are engaged throughout the SAB project. These MTAG members include participants from Federal, State, academic, and non-governmental organizations. The MTAG members (n=14) were interviewed in June 2023 about their role in decision-making with respect to marshes and how they use marsh models in their work. The questions differed for each respondent but had consistent topics across all discussions. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Dawn Kotowicz

   U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

   Research Social Scientist

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   508-548-8700 (voice)

   dkotowicz@usgs.gov

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • SAB MTAG needs

   Date: 2024 (process 3 of 3)

   Step 3: Analyzed interview data.
   Data from both sets of interviews categorized by the need type the interviewee expressed regarding marsh models and organized into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. The SAB project data are available in the first spreadsheet tab ("SAB MTAG needs"), and the Marsh Model Retrospective initiative data are available in the second spreadsheet tab ("Marsh Retrospective needs"). In some instances, direct quotes (response results with quotation marks) were recorded while other responses (without quotation marks) were paraphrased to more succinctly capture the response. All responses were categorized according to their theme, respondents were not asked to comment on each theme so there are more responses in some topics than others. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Dawn Kotowicz

   U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

   Research Social Scientist

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   508-548-8700 (voice)

   dkotowicz@usgs.gov

   Data sources used in this process:

   • Marsh Retrospective needs
   • SAB MTAG needs

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • Marsh modeling needs spreadsheet

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

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

1. How well have the observations been checked?
   These data are not presented as an attribute table with different fields; rather, they are categorized into the types of needs that the interviewed professionals who make decisions about marshes expressed in a single column of data. Therefore, there is no relevant attribute accuracy report.
2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
   These data are interview data not intended to apply to any specific place. Therefore, there are no inherent spatial data or hoizontal positional accuracy associated with the interview responses.
3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
   
4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
   This dataset includes only data collected with respect to decision makers’ needs regarding marsh migration modeling projects.
5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
   Topics for discussion differed between projects, but consistent among all respondents within each project. The Marsh Model Retrospective and the SAB project. the data table is organized into two tabs. The first tab presents the results from the SAB project and the second tab presents the results from the Marsh Model Retrospective.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   
   U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase

   Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Mail Stop 302

   Denver, CO
   

   1-888-275-8747 (voice)

   sciencebase@usgs.gov
2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? This dataset contains two files: a Microsoft Excel XLSX file of the categorized interview data (Marsh_Modeling_Needs.xlsx), and a Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) metadata file in XML format (Marsh_Modeling_Needs_meta.xml).
3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
   Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	This dataset contains an XLSX file of the categorized interview data and the associated FGDC CSDGM metadata. in format XLSX (version Microsoft Excel 2402) Size: 0.1
     Network links:	https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/67b8fc30d34e1a2e835b85a1 https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/67b8fc30d34e1a2e835b85a1 https://doi.org/10.5066/P13JMCBZ

   • Cost to order the data: None.

5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
   These data are available as an XLSX file, so the user must have software capable of reading the XLSX file format.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 25-Jun-2025

Metadata author:

U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Attn: Dawn Kotowicz

508-548-8700

384 Woods Hole Road

Woods Hole, MA

508-548-8700 (voice)

whsc_data_contact@usgs.gov

Contact_Instructions:

The metadata contact email address is a generic address in the event the person is no longer with the USGS.

Metadata standard:

FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)