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

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Frequently anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
Modeling marsh migration: User needs for decision-making collected in 2021 and 2023
Abstract:
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted interviews of professionals who make decisions about marshes during the Salt Marsh Evolution along the South Atlantic Bight project (SAB project) and the Marsh Model Retrospective initiative. During the SAB project, an advisory committee of marsh model users were interviewed in June 2023 about what decisions they make about marshes and how they use marsh models in their work. During the Marsh Model Retrospective initiative, marsh model users were interviewed between March and July 2021. These data were collected to learn more about what decisions marsh model users intend to make with the results of these efforts. Data from both sets of interviews were analyzed and categorized into the types of needs that the interviewed professionals who make decisions about marshes expressed regarding marsh models.
Supplemental_Information:
  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:

    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?

This dataset provides access to the interview data categorized into the types of needs that the interviewed professionals who make decisions about marshes expressed regarding marsh models. These data were collected to assess the needs of professionals who make decisions about marshes and intentions for use of the results of the marsh modeling efforts along the SAB, and to inform marsh modelers of how to better position research outcomes to meet these needs. These data are to be used as a case study with respect to the SAB project, and not representative of any population.

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?

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. Please recognize the U.S. Geological Survey as the originator of the dataset.
  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?
  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)

This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/whcmsc/SB_data_release/DR_P13JMCBZ/Marsh_Modeling_Needs_meta.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Fri Jul 11 10:39:44 2025