Use of citizen scientists in sea level rise research

Students and general public typically receive knowledge and

information about sea level rise from textbooks or mass media

sources. Few have real-life experiences or understandings of

potential impacts of this process. On-going studies in Winyah

Bay South Carolina provide project-based learning opportunities

for citizen scientists to gain insights and practical experiences

about the impacts of sea level rise on coastal ecosystems. These

low-lying wetland ecosystems are representative of coastal

wetlands along the Southeastern US coast, from Texas to North

Carolina, which are currently converting from freshwater

forested wetland to salt marsh. These forest-marsh transitions

significantly alter vegetation composition and biogeochemical

processes, resulting in deteriorating soil and water quality and

reduction of the capacity for carbon sequestration within these

coastal ecosystems. In collaboration with the EarthWatch

Institute, citizen scientists have been recruited to participate in

summer research at Clemson University’s Baruch Institute of

Coastal Ecology & Forest Science. These participants work

together to take field measurements including forest

productivity and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as nutrient

concentrations in soil and water under the guidance of the

wetland and soil scientists at the Institute. The ultimate goals of

the research and education program are to yield quantified

evidence to illustrate the stress occurring in these coastal

ecosystems and to connect students and the general public in

on-going cutting-edge research activities and engaging them in

discussions of the impacts of sea level rise.

Dennis O. Suhre, William H. Conner, David Miller and Alex Chow Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology & Forest Sciences, Clemson University, SC

Study Sites Citizen Scientists

Results & Summary

Acknowledgement Thanks Leah Gregory, Brian Williams, Steve Hutch Hutchinson, Jennie Unterner, Jun-Jian Wang, Mary-Frances Rogers, and Adam Coates for their support on field and lab works. The PIs also would like to

acknowledge Hobcaw Barony and Yawkey Wildlife Center for allowing access to their natural reserves and support on the study. Special thanks to Kyle Hutton, Gitte Venicx, Tera Dornfeld, Stan Rullman, and other

EarthWatch staffs on the field work and post-field surveys. These research activities are also partially supported by USGS Climate and Land Use Change Research and Development Program and NSF under project

number 1529927.

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Pate Swamp - High Land

Pate Swamp - Low Land

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Reserve Swamp - Saltwater

Field Gear Testing and Training

Charleston

Clemson

Columbia

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Figure 1. (a) Map shows the location of Hobcaw Barony in Winyah Bay, South Carolina.

(b) Satellite photo illustrate the landscape of Hobcaw Barony. Yellow dots are the

locations of Greenhouse Gas sampling sites and red dots are the locations of water

sampling sites.

Figure 2. Photos show the vegetation and landscape of (a) Healthy forested wetland (b)

salt-impacted degraded wetland (c) salt marsh

2c 2b 2a

1a 1b

Introduction Participants

1) High School Teachers

2) High School Students

3) School Teachers From Overseas

Duration

1-2 weeks

Field & Lab Activities

Orientation

Field Sampling Exploring Nature Lab Analysis

Teaching Enhancement Pre- and post expedition surveys suggest that the

teachers became more comfortable with teaching

science after the week spent at the Baruch institute.

The ability to teach educators cutting edge climate

science that will then be disseminated to their

students allows us to reach a much broader

audience than through just scientific publication.

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Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8

• Q1 – Making connections between my curriculum

/ work and local environmental issues

• Q2 – Making connections between my curriculum

/ work and global environmental issues

• Q3 – Teaching the scientific method

• Q4 – Approaching research questions

• Q5 – Guiding my students in developing research

questions

• Q6 – Encouraging critical thinking in my classroom

• Q8 – Doing experimental and background research

in my classroom curriculum

• Q9 - Incorporating real research results into my

class curriculum

Pre-Expedition

Post-Expedition

Research Enhancement The use of citizen scientists on this project was

critical. Having the ability to measure

greenhouse gases at four sites simultaneously

allowed us to model daily fluctuations in

different environments of interest.