Articles | Volume 9, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-413-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-413-2021
Research article
 | 
25 May 2021
Research article |  | 25 May 2021

Biophysical controls of marsh soil shear strength along an estuarine salinity gradient

Megan N. Gillen, Tyler C. Messerschmidt, and Matthew L. Kirwan

Data sets

Shear Stress, Biomass, Bulk Density, Organic Matter on the Bank of the York River, VA 2018 M. N. Gillen, T. C. Messerschmidt, and M. L. Kirwan https://doi.org/10.6073/PASTA/26C848AB288CC14A2EDB106F5800CFC8

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Short summary
We measured the shear strength of marsh soils along an estuarine salinity gradient to determine salinity's influence on marsh erodibility. Our work is one of the first studies to directly examine the relationship between salinity and marsh erodibility. We find that an increase in salinity correlates with higher soil shear strength values, indicating that salt marshes may be more resistant to erosion. We also show that both belowground biomass and soil properties drive shear strength differences.