CRAM Bar-Built Estuarine (BBE) module now available to expand the applicability of CRAM
With funding from the State Coastal Conservancy, SFEI staff developed the eCRAM data entry forms for uploading BBE assessments into the CRAM database. Public assessments can be viewed on EcoAtlas' interactive map and downloaded using the CRAM filter tool.
During 2009-2014, the USEPA funded the development and validation of the Bar-built Estuarine module. 100 BBE systems along the coast of California have been assessed, and their CRAM assessments will be uploaded over the next few months.
Bar-built Estuaries, also termed river mouth lagoons, bar-built lagoons, coastal river mouths and coastal confluences, are the terminus of creek and river mouths that flow to the coast and represent and important and unique subset of estuaries within California. Bar-built estuaries are ecologically influenced by seasonal closures of their tidal inlets through the formation of a sand bar or small barrier beaches. The frequency and duration of inlet closure can be natural or managed. Many of these systems frequently exhibit prolonged non-tidal phases, seepage tides, or significant tidal choking, resulting in the tidal regime being muted in comparison to the adjacent marine system when the tidal inlet is open. The salinity regime of a bar-built estuary can be highly variable, ranging from fresh throughout very wet years to hypersaline during extended droughts.
Visit the CRAM website for more information.
Related Projects, News, and Events:
California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM) (Project)
CRAM is a standardized, scientifically defensible rapid assessment method for monitoring the ecological conditions of wetlands throughout California. Because it is standardized, one can compare ecological conditions of wetlands locally, regionally and statewide.
EcoAtlas (Project)
California's EcoAtlas provides access to information for effective wetland management. EcoAtlas is a set of tools for generating, assembling, storing, visualizing, sharing, and reporting environmental data and information. The tools can be used individually or together, and they can be adjusted or tuned to meet the specific needs of environmental planners, regulators, managers, scientists, and educators. The maps and tools can be used to create a complete picture of aquatic resources in the landscape by integrating stream and wetland maps, restoration information, and monitoring results with land use, transportation, and other information important to the state’s wetlands.
California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM): Bar-Built Estuarine Wetlands (Project)
The CRAM Bar-Built Estuarine module is used for assessing reaches of coastal rivers and streams that are ecologically influenced by seasonal closures of their tidal inlets.