MARSH STRATIGRAPHY AND SEDIMENTATION RATE OF HIGBEE BEACH CAPE MAY, NEW JERSEY

Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area is located southern New Jersey near Cape May and plays an important role to its unique vegetation and as a sanctuary for the migration of seasonal birds. Higbee Beach’s local history and industrial past raises questions on what type of influence they have over the state of the marsh today. The New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife plans to restructure the marsh to improve migratory bird habitat, yet there is not any data available to see if the projects completed in the future will have a beneficial effect on the marsh and if the goals of the projects are reached. The goal of this study was to determine the characteristics and structure of the marsh prior to the construction. A basic evaluation of the sediment in the marsh was completed to create a comprehensive and detailed stratigraphic description of the marsh’s sediment. A transect of five piston-assisted push cores across the marsh were collected in summer 2017. The two inch cores were subsectioned into 2 cm layers, and described by color, texture, and the presence of plant and animal material. Experiments for bulk density, loss on ignition, and particle size were calculated. Sediment trap data collected in 2016 was utilized for sedimentation accumulation rates and to understand relative behavior within the marsh. Four inch cores from two locations closest to the shore were collected for ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs analysis, and from this relative age and accumulation rates within the marsh were calculated. Correlation between the cores were achieved through sediment characteristics, relative accumulation rates and the relative age data. The modern marsh consist of mud and peat, overlying muddy sand. The marsh sediments are 0.54 m thick near the bay and increase to 0.91 m thick inland. Modern sediment accumulation rates range between 6 and 1682 g/m² over a spring/neap tidal cycle. We will discuss in detail the sediment stratigraphy and relationship to modern processes.