Coastal Wetland Resilience to Sea Level Rise Across Continental US

Continental US tidal wetland data provides a 30-meter resolution vertical resilience index (VR) for 2100 under three IPCC RCP scenarios (2.5, 4.5, 8.5). The dataset includes future tidal area projections, sediment accretion rates, and land cover classifications for 1996 and 2011. It originates from ORNL_CLOUD and is available on multiple government data platforms.

Use Cases

• Modeling vertical wetland resilience using the 30m resolution VR index under current and future sea levels.
• Assessing lateral wetland migration by analyzing current and future tidal area maps based on mean higher high water spring tides.
• Evaluating land cover change in tidal watersheds using the 1996 and 2011 land cover classifications.
• Comparing wetland fate across different climate futures using the three distinct IPCC RCP scenario projections.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution (30m) spatial analysis across the entire continental US coastline.
• Includes projections for three distinct, standardized IPCC climate scenarios (RCP 2.5, 4.5, 8.5).
• Covers multiple resilience factors: vertical accretion (VR index), lateral migration (tidal areas), and historical land cover.

Limitations

• Conflicting last update dates: one source shows 2100-12-31 (likely a placeholder), another shows 2026-03 12.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and detailed column names are not provided across any source.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Modeled predictions based on current sea levels, local tidal dynamics, coastal topography, and estimated sediment accretion rates.

Time Range

1996-2100

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:29:48.036854

Geography

Continental United States (CONUS)