Calculation of a suspended-sediment concentration-turbidity regression model and flood-ebb suspended-sediment concentration differentials from marshes near Stone Harbor and Thompsons Beach, New Jersey, 2018–19 and 2022–23
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.