Summary of study design and data collected at Assateague National Seashore, MD

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Data Sources

Monitoring Wells

The monitoring conducted for this study at wells Wo Ef 41, Wo Ef 42, and Wo Ef 43 characterized the effects of storm events on the western bay-side of Assateague Island. These wells are located adjacent to a surficial pond and in the vicinity of maritime pine trees. The wells are on a slight hill and are protected from the Atlantic coast by a taller primary dune on the east side of the island. From Lidar elevations (Figure 1) it appears that Wo Ef 41 is at a higher elevation than the interior wells. However, surveyed ground elevations show Wo EF 41 is higher due to it being on a hill. Links to data from each of these wells can be found in Table 1.

Figure 1. Location of wells in transect

Well Name	Screened-Interval (below land surface)	Location Description	Link to Site Page
Wo Ef 41	8.75-9.5 ft bls	Located closer to the bay, on slight swale or hill	Link
Wo Ef 42	8.2-8.95 ft bls	Located in Stand of Pines, slight land surface depression	Link
Wo Ef 43	0.85-1.6 ft bls	Located in Stand of Pines, slight land surface depression	Link

Table 1. Description of wells.

Tide Data

• Chincoteague Inlet Tide Data (USGS- Site Number 01484746)

• 6-minute elevation data

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/va/nwis/uv/?site_no=01484746&agency_cd=USGS

• Ocean City Inlet Tide Data (NOAA- Site Number 8570283)

• Hourly elevation data

• https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/waterlevels.html?id=8570283

Precipitation (BLM and NPS)

• ASTM2

• https://mesowest.utah.edu/cgi-bin/droman/meso_base_dyn.cgi?stn=ASTM2

Study Design

The monitoring period for this study was from September 2017 through June 2018. During this period, the water level and specific conductance were monitored in each well and collected at 15-minute intervals. Short-term responses to storm responses were evaluated using the timeseries of water level and specific conductance data, along with precipitation data and wind speed data collected at location ASTM2, and tidal elevations recorded from nearby tide gages at Chincoteague Inlet and Ocean City (See Fig. 1.).

Data Summary (Table 2, Figure 2)

Storm Number	Start Date	End Date	Precip. As rain (in.)	Max. precip as rain (in.)	Max. Precip Date	MAX. Wind speed (mph)	Max wind date	Max. Height abv Mean Higher High Water (NAVD88, ft)
1	9-17-2017	9-21-2017	0.28	0.13	9-19-17	15	9-19-2017	2.802
2	10-29-2017	11-1-2017	2.04	0.31	10-29-17	20	10-30	1.752
3	1-3-2018	1-6-2018	0.07	0.04	1-3-2017	24	1-4-2018	1.97
4	1-12-2018	1-14-2018	0.69	0.36	1-13-2018	20	1-13-2018	0.676
5	3-1-2018	3-4-2018	0.24	0.05	3-1-2018	28	3-2-2018	2.411
6	3-4-2018	3-12-2018	0.75	0.16	3-7-2018	22	3-7-2018	2.677
7	3-12-2018	3-16-2018	0.53	0.13	3-12-2018	21	3-12-2018	1.92
8	3-19-2018	3-24-2018	2.12	0.18	3-20-2018	33	3-20-2018	2.346
9	4-2-2018	4-5-2018	0.03	0.02	4-2-2018	21	4-4-2018	1.233
10	4-14-2018	4-18-2018	1.63	0.65	4-16-2018	27	4-16-2018	2.122
11	5-12-2018	5-15-2018	3.46	1.69	5-13-2018	22	5-12-2018	1.473
12	5-15-2018	5-20-2018	4.14	0.8	5-18-2018	23	5-18-2018	2.08

Table 2: List of storm events

Figure 2: Assateague Monitoring Summary - Period: September 8, 2017 – June 25, 2018. Missing SC and water temperature data in Wo Ef 43 SC from December 2017 to were periods when the sensors were out of the water.

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