NASA Blue Methane Field Monitoring for Louisiana and the Chesapeake Bay, 2019-2021

The purpose of the study was to collect data on both tidal wetland methane emissions and the processes that drive and interact with them, from two sites, to fit and validate improved near-term forecasting models. The study consists of two focal sites, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). Both sites are previously well studied, are microtidal, and have intermediate salinities. SERC is located on the Rhode River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. LUMCON is located in Terrebonne Parish on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Each site consisted of 3 sub-sites referred to throughout as LUM1, 2, and 3 for LUMCON, and Mud, Hog, and Kirk, for SERC, referring to local names of Muddy Creek, Hog Island, and Kirkpatrick marsh. Each subsite, contained four nested plots. Plots were clustered so that pairs of plots pairs of pairs (1 and 2) were located 15 meters apart and pairs within were located 1.5 m apart (indicated by A and B). Fluxes, porewater concentrations of important biogeochemical constituents, plant biomass, and phenology, were measured approximately monthly. Salinity and water level were monitored within wetland wells continuously.