In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the Northeastern U.S., affecting ecosystems and communities of 12 states. In response, the National Fish and Wildlife Federation (NFWF) and the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) implemented the Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Program, which funded various projects designed to reduce future impacts of coastal hazards. These projects included marsh, beach, and dune restoration, aquatic connectivity, and living shoreline installation, among others. To evaluate restoration efforts of the Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Program, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) studied two marsh sites of coastal systems in southeast New Jersey that underwent restoration. Submerged sensors were deployed to measure water velocity, water quality, water level, and waves. Water quality data collection included optical turbidity measurements that were calibrated to suspended sediment mass using in-situ, lab filtered water samples. These data will be used to calculate sediment fluxes and ecological resilience metrics at the two marsh sites.

The U.S. Geological Survey collected water velocity and water quality data from salt marshes in Great Channel, southwest of Stone Harbor, New Jersey, and near Thompsons Beach, New Jersey, to evaluate restoration effectiveness after Hurricane Sandy and monitor postrestoration marsh health. Time series data of turbidity and water velocity were collected from 2018 to 2019 and 2022 to 2023 at both sites. Water samples were collected and analyzed for suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), which was used to derive a regression model to estimate a time series of SSC data from turbidity data. The SSC time series data were then combined with the water velocity data to calculate the flood-ebb SSC differential. This report presents the data collection methods, the repeated median regression model used to estimate SSC from turbidity, and the flood-ebb SSC differential calculations.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the Northeastern US causing devastation among coastal ecosystems. Post-hurricane marsh restoration efforts have included sediment deposition, planting of vegetation, and restoring tidal hydrology. The work presented here is part of a larger project funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to monitor the post-restoration ecological resilience of coastal ecosystems in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center made in-situ observations during 2018-2019 and 2022-2023 at two sites: Thompsons Beach, NJ and Stone Harbor, NJ. Marsh creek hydrodynamics and water quality including currents, waves, water levels, water temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, organic matter, chlorophyll-a, and suspended-sediment concentration and organic content were measured at both sites. Additionally, marsh accretion and erosion were evaluated and used to interpret sediment budgets. These ecological data will be coupled with topographic lidar and imagery to explain the processes responsible for coastline evolution, and to evaluate restoration techniques and assess whether storm vulnerability has decreased relative to unaltered environments.