The importance of establishing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for environmental sampling is recognized worldwide. The purpose of developing SOPs for SET measurements is to allow a better comparability between sites, facilitate the replicability and knowledge transmission.

The standardization of the operating procedures for SET measurements involves two different steps. The first one is the definition of standard operating procedures specific for different coastal environments. As a matter of fact the guidelines for the installation of the SET permanent sites will have to take into account substrate differences between for example a mangrove system and a Spartina dominated marsh. The second step is developing a general form to be filled by the SET researchers in order to document operating procedures specific to their sites. This information would serve as metadata accompanying the SET raw measurements when data are contributed to the database. Once established, these procedures should continue to be improved. Here we provide a general format for operating procedures based on earlier work (Boumans et al. and Cahoon et al. & Lynch).

The format of the SOPs was adopted from an earlier publication of the Environmental Research Laboratory, Narragansett, U.S.EPA (Mueller et al. 1992).

The value of environmental sampling data is not assured unless standard laboratory practices are coupled with an appropriate quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program. The QA/QC program is a system of internal checks on all the aspects of sample collection and analysis that could compromise results. Since every scientific investigation has different project goals and data collection requirements, these SOPs do not include specific QA/QC requirements.

REFERENCES

Mueller, C., W. R. Munns, Jr., D. J. Cobb, E. A. Petrocelli, G. G. Pesch, W. G. Nelson, D. M. Burdick, F. T. Short, and R. K. Johnston. 1992. Standard Operating Procedures and Field Methods Used for Conducting Ecological Risk Assessment Case Studies. Naval Command Control and Ocean Surveillance Center, RDT&E Division Technical Document 2296, 484 pp.

INSTITUTION, LAB STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE LAB SOP 1.00 COLLECTION, IDENTIFICATION AND/OR Month Year CHARACTERIZATION OF MEDIA OR BIOTA POINT OF CONTACT The contact person(s) for each of these SOPs is the person who was responsible for developing or applying the method to the project, and is available to answer specific questions regarding the SOPs.: Principal Investigator Associated Laboratory Institution Address City, State, Country Postal Code Telephone EMAIL Address OBJECTIVE SAFETY Safety issues are addressed to minimize the chance or severity of accidents that may occur during the sampling procedures. The focus is on boat safety, communications, and protective clothing that is appropriate for sampling in areas where hazardous wastes may be found and processing samples. The reader is referred to the Health and Safety Plan (HASP) that should accompany any Work Plan for sample collection. MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT Field List of all field materials, sampling equipment, and specialized personnel Laboratory List of all general and specialized laboratory materials and equipment It is assumed that some general lab equipment is available and that secure cool (5° C) and cold (-20° C) storage areas are available METHODS Field Collection Field activities and transport methods are outlined by number in sentence format. Laboratory Processing Laboratory activities, including processing, storage, and sending out samples, are outlined using numbered steps. The original literature is cited where appropriate (see References, Section VII). TROUBLE SHOOTING / HINTS Warnings and solutions to difficult or error-prone steps are discussed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND DATA USAGE Data reduction procedures and appropriate statistical tests are outlined. REFERENCES Authors. Year. Journal of Publication VOL:1-100.

UNH, JEL STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE JEL SOP 1.25 SET STATION INSTALLATION Revision 1 August 1999 POINT OF CONTACT: David M. Burdick Jackson Estuarine Laboratory University of New Hampshire 85 Adams Point Road Durham, NH 03824 (603) 862-2175 dburdick@christa.unh.edu I. OBJECTIVE Install SET stations for the measurement of sediment elevation in coastal habitats, such as salt marshes. Short (2-3 years) and long-term (5-20 years) measurements will help assess negative and positive impacts from human and natural processes or events as well as guide management of salt marshes. II. SAFETY Access to sites may require use of small boats to transport equipment and crew, though use of land vehicles is recommended. All safety regulations and precautions should be observed while in boats. The minimum number of personnel needed for install is recommended at four. In the event of an accident, individuals can follow the necessary accident assessment, first aid and reporting procedures. Radio or cellular phone (vessels) and first aid kit should be available. Protective clothing should be worn that is appropriate for the tasks undertaken. Participating individuals should be instructed of potential hazards on the marsh and from vibra-corer. III. MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT -Vehicle for transportation to sites with standard safety equipment -Protective clothing and gear for handling equipment -Vibracorer with handles and wrenches -Outer aluminun coring pipe - 12 to 30 foot lengths, as appropriate. -Inner Station Pipe with four notches -Planks and plywood siding to cover the marsh and protect it from physical disturbance 20 feet around SET station. -Four blocks to mark station corners -Sharp shooter shovel (spade) or post hole digger -Carpenters level -Hacksaw -Concrete, water, buckets and trowel for mixing IV. METHODS In order to fulfill the objectives of a study to measure changes in sediment elevation, at least two replicate stations must be employed for eah type of management regime. Each replicate will be composed of a predetermined (36 per measure) number of subsamples that are taken over time. 1. Locate the site previously selected and marked for station installation. Place boards around the site to protect the marsh surface within 20 feet of the site. With the shovel or post hole digger, create a small hole 20 by 20 by 20 cm. 2. Select the coring pipe, measure the length of the pipe to the cm and record length. Attach the pipe to the vibra-core plate and any handles as needed. Place the lower end of the core pipe into the small hole and have crew members walk the pipe up into a vertical position as another holds the vibracore cable (to reduce weight and torque on the pipe). Establish the vertical position of the pipe using the level (in two directions). Once level, have the crew gently press the pipe into the ground and begin the vibracore engine. Sink the pipe, using the crew to guide the pipe in a vertical position, and then to pull down the pipe using handles of rope or metal until the point of refusal is reached. 3. Cut the coring pipe as close to the surface of the marsh as possible and discard the remaining pipe following measurement. Record the length of the pipe in the ground. Remove excess peat and sediment from the pipe so the innner station pipe fits comfortably into the coring pipe and extends up ablove the coring pipe about two cm. 4. Mix concrete and after removing inner pipe, pour the concrete into the outer pipe just enough so the inner pipe fits and the conctrete comes to the surface. Before the concrete sets, adjust the inner pipe so it?s surface is as flat as possible using the level. Mix more concrete with sand and fill outer area around outer core pipe to create a stable base (20 by 20 cm). 5. Place concrete blocks at outer edges of measuring areas for SETs and marker horizons. V. TROUBLE SHOOTING / HINTS Point of refusal New hole and pipe Danger from pipe failure or improper tightening of plate to pipe Vertical position of pipe to obtain level inner pipe (lever) VI. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND DATA USAGE Appropriate comparisons of mean values between pairs of stations under different conditions (management regime or measures of ecological stress) can be made in an ANOVA framework. Associations between rates of sediment elevation change and management regime or measures of ecological stress are tested using Pearson correlation coefficients. VII. REFERENCES Boumans, R.M.J., and J.W. Day, Jr. 1993 High precision measurements of sediment elevation in shallow coastal areas using a sedimentation-erosion table. Estuaries Vol 16. No.2, p. 375-380. Boumans, R.M.J. , G.P.Kemp, J.W. Day and K Kilgen.1997 The effect of intertidal sediment fences on wetland surface elevation, wave energy and vegetation establishment in two Louisiana coastal marshes. Ecologocal Engineering 9(37-50) Cahoon, D. R., J. C. Lynch, and R. M. Knaus. 1996. Improved cryogenic coring device for sampling wetland soils. Journal of Sedimentary Research 66:1025-1027.

UNH, JEL STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE JEL SOP 1.26 SEDIMENT ELEVATION TABLE (SET) MEASUREMENT Revision 1 August 1999 POINT OF CONTACT: David M. Burdick Jackson Estuarine Laboratory University of New Hampshire 85 Adams Point Road Durham, NH 03824 (603) 862-2175 dburdick@christa.unh.edu I. OBJECTIVE Measure changes in elevation of the sediment surface in coastal habitats, such as salt marshes. Short (2-3 years) and long-term (5-20 years) measurements will help assess negative and positive impacts from human and natural processes or events as well as guide management of salt marshes. II. SAFETY Access to sites may require use of small boats to transport equipment and crew, though use of land vehicles is recommended. All safety regulations and precautions should be observed while in boats. The minimum number of personnel needed for SET measures is recommended at two. In the event of an accident to one person, the other individual can follow the necessary accident assessment, first aid and reporting procedures. Radio or cellular phone (vessels) and first aid kit should be available. Protective clothing should be worn that is appropriate for the tasks undertaken. Participating individuals should be instructed of potential hazards on the marsh. III. MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT -Vehicle for transportation to sites with standard safety equipment -Protective clothing and gear for working on marsh -Sediment Elevation Table (SET) -Notebook with map to locate stations and record data. -Magnetic compass -Planking to protect marsh surface at station IV. METHODS In order to fulfill the objectives of a study to measure changes in sediment elevation, nine elevations are measured in four directions yielding 36 subsamples at each station. Measurements taken over time will provide rates of elevation change. 1. Locate station and concrete borders. Assemble SET. 2. Place planking to protect area and remove cover from station pipe. Attach SET to station pipe, making sure the table is fully inserted and locked into one set of slots in the station pipe. Determine which set of measures this postion represents using the four major and minor compass directions (North, Southeast etc.). 3. Record the species of vegetation present and their relative abundance using percentage of cover for each species. Estimate the cover by eye looking down on the measurement area (bird?s eye view). Assume the maximum cover is 100% and last years dead plants and bare ground are excluded from the total. Minor constituents (one shoot or seedling) can be given a nominal cover of 1%. For example, there might be 50%percent Spartina patens, 20 % Spartina alterniflora 1% Atriplex patula, with the other 29% bare or wrack or dead plants from the previous year. This is to provide characterization of the type of habitat, not an accurate representation of the entire community. 4. Level the SET arm. Use the turnbuckle to correct height and twist the arm or plate to correct the level from side to side (not as imporatant as height) and lock arm. Loosen the pins by sliding the plate with the knurled nut. 5. Establish the pin positions at the surface of the sediment and clip/lock pins. 6. Unlock arm and twist to expose pins and measure from 1 to 9 to the nearest mm. Record direction of set of 9 measures and length measurements from underside of plate to the sediment. 7. Loosen pins and push them up away from sediment for the next measure-ment. Lock pins and insert the SET into next measurement area clockwise from previous measurement (East follows North). Continue with step #3 until all four areas are measured. V. TROUBLE SHOOTING / HINTS 1. Position the pins by slowly sliding them down to just touch the surface. To better see the pin make contact with with sediment, clear out vegetation without damaging it. This can be done in pairs with one person on the plank and the other on the concrete border. 2. Re-check level following pins being set, but before measurment with ruler. If the plate was moved during the pin setting procedure, it may have affected the level. If this occurred, lift all the pins 10 cm, relevel and lock the arm, and reset the pins. 3. Measure the distance from the base of the plate to the top tof the pins when the elevation becomes too high. All pins are same legth so corrections can be made following computer input. VI. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND DATA USAGE Appropriate comparisons of mean values between pairs of stations under different conditions (management regime or measures of ecological stress) can be made in an ANOVA framework. Each set of 36 measurements from any one station are considered subsamples and are averaged to create a replicate mean. Differences between means at the same site over time provide rate measures of elevation change. VII. REFERENCES Boumans, R.M.J. , and J.W. Day, Jr. 1993 High precision measurements of sediment elevation in shallow coastal areas using a sedimentation-erosion table. Estuaries Vol 16. No.2, p. 375-380. Boumans, R.M.J. , G.P.Kemp, J.W. Day and K Kilgen.1997 The effect of intertidal sediment fences on wetland surface elevation, wave energy and vegetation establishment in two Louisiana coastal marshes. Ecologocal Engineering 9(37-50)