Projections of vegetated area and vegetated plain elevation in Chesapeake Bay salt marsh units

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What does this data set describe?

Title:
Projections of vegetated area and vegetated plain elevation in Chesapeake Bay salt marsh units
Abstract:
Projections of vegetated area and vegetated plain elevation for salt marsh units within the Chesapeake Bay (CB) salt marsh complex are calculated using geospatial information for conceptual marsh units defined by Ackerman and others (2022) and Defne and others (2023). The projections are based on the UBMorph model, described in Ganju and others (2025), which estimates changes in areal cover and elevation due to open-water expansion and sea-level rise (SLR). Sea-level rise rate predictions are implemented at constant rates of 3, 5, 7, and 10 mm/y, beginning in 2010, along with two time-varying cases corresponding to a linear decadal increase in rate from 3 to 12 mm/y and an “upper end of likely range limit” scenario described by Ganju and others (2025). Through scientific efforts initiated with the Hurricane Sandy Science Plan, the U.S. Geological Survey has been expanding national assessment of coastal change hazards and forecast products to coastal wetlands, including the Chesapeake Bay salt marshes, with the intent of providing Federal, State, and local managers with tools to estimate the vulnerability and ecosystem service potential of these wetlands. For this purpose, the response and resilience of coastal wetlands to physical factors need to be assessed in terms of the ensuing change to their vulnerability and ecosystem services.
References: Ackerman, K.V., Defne, Z., and Ganju, N.K., 2022, Geospatial characterization of salt marshes in Chesapeake Bay: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P997EJYB.
Defne, Z., Ganju, N.K., and Ackerman, K.V., 2023, Lifespan of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh units: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9FSPWSF.
Ganju, N.K., Ackerman, K.V., Defne, Z., Mariotti, G., Curson, D., Posnik, Z., Carr, J.A., and Grand, J., 2025, A Simple Predictive Model for Salt Marsh Internal Deterioration Under Sea-Level Rise and Sediment Deficits: Application to Chesapeake Bay: Estuaries and Coasts 48, 178, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-025-01618-w.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Ganju, Neil K., Ackerman, Kate V., and Defne, Zafer, 20250924, Projections of vegetated area and vegetated plain elevation in Chesapeake Bay salt marsh units: data release DOI:10.5066/P1ASOF7N, 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: Ganju, N.K., Ackerman, K.V., and Defne, Z., 2025, Projections of vegetated area and vegetated plain elevation in Chesapeake Bay salt marsh units: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1ASOF7N.
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -77.3747
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.5934
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.5898
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 36.3744
  3. What does it look like?
    https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/67ea9dc8d34ed02007f8335b/?name=CB_SaltMarsh_Browse.png&allowOpen=true (PNG)
    Graphic that shows salt marshes of Chesapeake Bay.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 2025
    Currentness_Reference:
    publication date
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: comma separated text files (.csv)
  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?
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Depth_System_Definition:
      Depth_Datum_Name: Mean Tidal Level
      Depth_Resolution: 0.1
      Depth_Distance_Units: meters
      Depth_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    elev_veg_3mmy.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain elevation (in meters, relative to mean tidal level (MTL)) under a 3 mm/y of sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “e” denoting the elevation dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise (SLR) scenario: 2010_e3 is the 2010 elevation prediction under a 3 mm/y SLR scenario. Elevations are relative to mean tidal level (MTL). The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    area_veg_3mmy.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain area (in square meters) under a 3 mm/y of sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “a” denoting the area dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_a3 is the 2010 area prediction under a 3 mm/y SLR scenario. The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    elev_veg_5mmy.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain elevation (in meters, relative to mean tidal level (MTL)) under a 5 mm/y of sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “e” denoting the elevation dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_e5 is the 2010 elevation prediction under a 5 mm/y SLR scenario. Elevations are relative to mean tidal level (MTL). The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    area_veg_5mmy.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain area (in square meters) under a 5 mm/y of sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “a” denoting the area dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_a5 is the 2010 area prediction under a 5 mm/y SLR scenario. The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    elev_veg_7mmy.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain elevation (in meters, relative to mean tidal level (MTL)) under a 7 mm/y of sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “e” denoting the elevation dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_e7 is the 2010 elevation prediction under a 7 mm/y SLR scenario. Elevations are relative to mean tidal level (MTL). The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    area_veg_7mmy.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain area (in square meters) under a 7 mm/y of sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “a” denoting the area dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_a7 is the 2010 area prediction under a 7 mm/y SLR scenario. The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    elev_veg_10mmy.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain elevation (in meters, relative to mean tidal level (MTL)) under a 10 mm/y of sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “e” denoting the elevation dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_e10 is the 2010 elevation prediction under a 10 mm/y SLR scenario. Elevations are relative to mean tidal level (MTL). The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    area_veg_10mmy.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain area (in square meters) under a 10 mm/y of sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “a” denoting the area dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_a10 is the 2010 area prediction under a 10 mm/y SLR scenario. The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    elev_veg_3to12mmy.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain elevation (in meters, relative to mean tidal level (MTL)) under a 3 to 12 mm/y linear decadal increase of sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “e” denoting the elevation dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_e3_12 is the 2010 elevation prediction under a 3 to 12 mm/y linear decadal increase of SLR scenario. Elevations are relative to mean tidal level (MTL). The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    area_veg_3to12mmy.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain area (in square meters) under a 3 to 12 mm/y linear decadal increase of sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “a” denoting the area dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_a3_12 is the 2010 area prediction under a 3 to 12 mm/y linear decadal increase of SLR scenario. The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    elev_veg_upperlimitoflikely.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain elevation (in meters, relative to mean tidal level (MTL)) under an “Upper Limit of Likely Range” sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “e” denoting the elevation dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_eUPP is the 2010 elevation prediction under an “Upper Limit of Likely Range” SLR scenario. Elevations are relative to mean tidal level (MTL). The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    area_veg_upperlimitoflikely.csv
    A CSV file that contains predictions of marsh vegetated plain area (in square meters) under an “Upper Limit of Likely Range” sea-level rise scenario as produced by the UBMorph model and the process steps above, for the conceptual marsh units of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex (identified by FID_CMU) for 100 years from 2010 to 2109. The field names are formatted to identify the year that the prediction is for, an “a” denoting the area dataset, and the value of the sea-level rise scenario: 2010_aUPP is the 2010 area prediction under an “Upper Limit of Likely Range” SLR scenario. The special value -9999 signifies no calculation was performed due to unavailable elevation data; values of 0 signify termination of the computation for either area or elevation, indicating conversion of the marsh unit to completely unvegetated. (Source: USGS)
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    In this dataset, area and elevation estimates for each conceptual salt marsh unit in the Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex under several sea-level rise scenarios have been calculated based on the UBMorph model. Decimal values represent the precision necessary to reproduce the model output accurately.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: USGS

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Neil K. Ganju
    • Kate V. Ackerman
    • Zafer Defne
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Neil Ganju
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Research Oceanographer
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA
    US

    508-548-8700 x2252 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    nganju@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

The purpose of this set of tables is to present projections of vegetated area and vegetated plain elevation for each marsh unit in the Chesapeake Bay.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    mu_lifespan_CB.shp (source 1 of 1)
    Defne, Zafer, Ganju, Neil K., and Ackerman, Kate V., 2023, Lifespan of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh units: data release DOI:10.5066/P9FSPWSF, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Contribution:
    Used the vegetated fraction elevation relative to mean tidal level (VG_ELEVMTL), total marsh unit area (ATOT_M2), and UnVegetated-Vegetated Ratio (UVVR) as inputs.
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2025 (process 1 of 1)
    The process step uses the initial conditions for vegetated area and elevation, along with the empirical equations presented by Ganju and others (2025), to project future changes in response to sea-level rise scenarios.
    1) Import the following variables from mu_lifespan_CB.shp into Matlab (v. 2018b): marsh unit ID (FID_CMU), total marsh unit area in square meters (m2) (ATOT_M2), vegetated plain elevation relative to mean tidal level in meters (m) (VG_ELEVMTL), and the dimensionless UnVegetated-Vegetated Ratio (UVVR).
    2) To eliminate spurious calculations in marsh units with flags for the UVVR, replace UVVR values less than 0 (fill values) with NaNs.
    3) For each marsh unit (FID_CMU), extract the UVVR and VG_ELEVMTL, and set the two main parameters (surface accretion rate, loss partition coefficient) to surface accretion rate (sar)=0.9, and loss partition coefficient (w)=0.8. These two parameters and their selection are described by Ganju and others (2025). Set substrate density (rho_sub)=373 kg/m3 and depositional density (rho_dep)=159 kg/m3.
    4) Specify time-varying sea-level rise rate (slr, meters/year (m/y)) at annual interval. Rates are either constant values of 3, 5, 7, or 10 millimeters/year (mm/y), variable rates corresponding to a linear decadal increase from 3 to 12 mm/y, or variable rates corresponding to the “upper limit of likely range” from Ganju and others (2025). Specify background sea-level rise rate (slr_bgrnd (m/y)) as 0.003 m/y. Specify maximum time step, t, as 100 years.
    5) This step initializes model variables. Calculate the initial vegetated area as area_veg(t=0) = ATOT_M2/(1+UVVR).
    Calculate the initial unvegetated area as area_unveg(t=0) = ATOT_M2 - area_veg (t=0)
    Calculate the initial sediment mass as sed_mass(t=0)=area_veg(t=0) x VG_ELEVMTL x rho_sub
    Calculate the initial sediment budget as sed_bud(t=0)=(-0.416 x log(UVVR)-1.0749) x ATOT_M2-(slr(t=0)-slr_bgrnd) x rho_dep x ATOT_M2, following Ganju and others (2017). If more than zero, indicating sediment import, set to zero.
    Calculate initial elevation loss as elev_loss(t=0)=(sed_bud(t=0) x w)/(rho_sub x area_veg(t=0))
    Calculate initial areal loss as area_veg_loss(t=0)=((1-w) x sed_bud(t=0))/(rho_sub x VG_ELEVMTL)
    If VG_ELEVMTL is equal to zero the calculation is terminated.
    6) This step begins forward time-stepping, t=t+1, and updates UVVR and VG_ELEVMTL at each time step. If area or elevation drop below 0, stop computation. Calculate vegetated elevation at next time step, VG_ELEVMTL(t+1)=VG_ELEVMTL(t)+elev_loss(t)-slr(t+1)+[slr(t+1) x sar]
    Calculate vegetated area at next time step, area_veg(t+1)=area_veg(t)+area_veg_loss(t)
    Calculate sediment mass at next time step, sed_mass(t+1)=area_veg(t+1) x VG_ELEVMTL(t+1) x rho_sub
    Calculate unvegetated area at next time step, area_unveg(t+1)=ATOT_M2-area_veg(t+1)
    Calculate UVVR at next time step, UVVR(t+1)=area_unveg(t+1)/area_veg(t+1)
    Calculate sediment budget at next time step, sed_bud(t+1)=(-0.416 x log(UVVR(t+1))-1.0749) x ATOT_M2-(slr(t+1)-slr_bgrnd) x rho_dep x ATOT_M2. If more than zero, indicating sediment import, set to zero.
    Calculate elevation loss at next time step, elev_loss(t+1)=(sed_bud(t+1) x w)/(rho_sub x area_veg(t+1))
    Calculate areal loss at next time step area_veg_loss(t+1)=((1-w) x sed_bud(t+1))/(rho_sub x VG_ELEVMTL(t+1))
    Repeat process step 6 until area or elevation drop below 0, or maximum time step is reached.
    If maximum time step is reached for all units, stop computation.
    7) This step exports the projections for vegetated plain elevation and vegetated area (VG_ELEVMTL and AREA_VEG) for all timesteps and marsh units to CSV using Matlab csvwrite command. For each sea-level rise case, export the AREA_VEG and VG_ELEVMTL matrices to separate CSV files. Append FID_CMU to the first column, and the year, truncated variable name, and truncated sea-level rise scenario identifier (e.g., “2010_e3” for the year 2010, elevation variable, and 3 mm/y scenario) to the first row.
    These CSV files can be joined to shapefile mu_lifespan_CB.shp (Join Field= FID_CMU) to be examined spatially. Person who carried out this activity:
    Neil K. Ganju
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Research Oceanographer
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2252 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    nganju@usgs.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • mu_lifespan_CB.shp
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • area_veg_3mmy.csv
    • area_veg_5mmy.csv
    • area_veg_7mmy.csv
    • area_veg_10mmy.csv
    • area_veg_3to12mmy.csv
    • area_veg_upperlimitoflikely.csv
    • elev_veg_3mmy.csv
    • elev_veg_5mmy.csv
    • elev_veg_7mmy.csv
    • elev_veg_10mmy.csv
    • elev_veg_3to12mmy.csv
    • elev_veg_upperlimitoflikely.csv
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Ackerman, Kate V., Defne, Zafer, and Ganju, Neil K., 2023, Geospatial characterization of salt marshes in Chesapeake Bay: data release DOI:10.5066/P997EJYB, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Defne, Zafer, Ganju, Neil K., and Ackerman, Kate V., 2023, Lifespan of Chesapeake Bay salt marsh units: data release DOI:10.5066/P9FSPWSF, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Ganju, Neil K., Ackerman, Kate V., Defne, Zafer, Mariotti, Giulio, Curson, David, Posnik, Zachary, Carr, Joel A., and Grand, Joanna, 2025, A simple predictive model for salt marsh internal deterioration under sea-level rise and sediment deficits: application to Chesapeake Bay: Estuaries and Coasts 48.

    Online Links:

    Ganju, Neil K., Defne, Zafer, Kirwan, Matthew L., Fagherazzi, Sergio, D'Alpaos, Andrea, and Carniello, Luca, 2017, Spatially integrative metrics reveal hidden vulnerability of microtidal salt marshes: Nature Communications 8:14156.

    Online Links:

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    Marsh units, and water and land boundaries inherit their accuracy from accuracy of the source data, Chesapeake Bay marsh units. The vertical accuracy of the marsh unit elevation is inherited from the 1-meter resolution U.S. Geological Survey Coastal National Elevation Database (USGS CoNED) data from 1859 to 2015 and the NOAA North Carolina DEM dataset. The uncertainty in the area and elevation projections is large because of the nature of the empirical equations used and the uncertainty in the source data. For example, a 20% variation in each of the unvegetated to vegetated marsh ratio (UVVR), elevation, bulk density and sea-level rise variables, when all in favor of increasing sediment export and decreasing lifespan, may result in accelerated marsh loss by 50%.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Horizontal accuracy is inherited from the source dataset that delineates the marsh units and can be considered to be +/-6 meters.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    Because the elevation values are averaged over delineated polygons, vertical accuracy of marsh unit elevation depends on both the horizontal accuracy of NWI dataset and the vertical accuracy of source elevation data. CoNED vertical elevation accuracy is 0.2 meters. NOAA North Carolina DEM dataset resolution is 0.06 meters. Additionally, the transformation between the vertical datums is based on the VDatum model which had a vertical uncertainty of 0.1 meters for the transformation points with the domain. Therefore, when all combined the maximum uncertainty could be in excess of 0.36 meters.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    The results are specific to the marsh polygons definition within the boundaries of the Chesapeake Bay salt marsh complex. A detailed on-the-ground analysis of a single site may result in a different interpretation of the wetland and marsh unit boundaries.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    For area and elevation calculations, no calculations were performed if the marsh unit had a flagged UVVR value of -1 or elevation value of -9999 in the original datasets.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints No access constraints. Please see 'Distribution Information' for details.
Use_Constraints These data are marked with a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal License. These data are in the public domain and do not have any use constraints. Users are advised to read the dataset's metadata thoroughly to understand appropriate use and data limitations. The area and elevation projections for each marsh unit are defined for scientific research purposes and should not be used as a sole source of reference for any regulations and policy making. 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 source of this information.
  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? The file Veg_Area_Elev_Change_CB.zip contains the 12 CSV files (area_veg_3mmy.csv, area_veg_5mmy.csv, area_veg_7mmy.csv, area_veg_10mmy.csv, area_veg_3to12mmy.csv, area_veg_upperlimitoflikely.csv, elev_veg_3mmy.csv, elev_veg_5mmy.csv, elev_veg_7mmy.csv, elev_veg_10mmy.csv, elev_veg_3to12mmy.csv,elev_veg_upperlimitoflikely.csv) and the FGDC CSDGM metadata in .xml format.
  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. The USGS or the U.S. Government shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 24-Sep-2025
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
Attn: Neil Ganju
Research Oceanographer
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA

508-548-8700 x2252 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
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 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_P1ASOF7N/Vegetated_area_elevation_change_CB.faq.html>
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