NFHAP Coastal Framework and Indicator Shapefile

State: refers to U.S. state or states - locations which fully or partially contain the waterbody or watershed identified by a record in the NFHAP Coastal Framework and Indicator Shapefile, using standard abbreviation codes. | Description Source: Standard state abbreviation codes (e.g. ME, NH, MA, etc.). Some estuaries or watersheds are in more than one state, so are designated as a space-delimited character string, e.g. " MD VA ". Federal waters are designated as US. The New Brunswick portion of Passamaquoddy Bay is designated as NB.

Refers to where in the land-to-sea continuum the polygon is, in one of six zones, from terrestrial watersheds to U.S. Federal waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on the Continental Shelf. | Description Source: The six zones delineated for the purposes of this attribute are defined as: Estuarine River Mouth Estuarine Drainage Area (EDA) Coastal Drainage Area (CDA) Marine-State Marine-Federal

Refers to where on the Continental U.S. coastal continuum the polygon is, in one of six regions. | Description Source: The six regions adopted by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team: North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, South Florida, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific.

Waterbody or watershed name, written as text, and generally reflecting the commonly accepted place name, e.g. "Chesapeake Bay". | Description Source: Most names were adopted as provided by NOAA's Coastal Assessment Framework (CAF), but some were changed to reflect locally accepted terminology.

Recorded as a unique number (UniqueID), for each waterbody or watershed identified within the NFHAP Coastal Spatial Framework. | Description Source: Each waterbody or watershed is represented by a unique number (UniqueID). This field enables a join between the Spatial Framework and any associated data sets.

Watershed alphanumeric code taken directly from NOAA's Coastal Assessment Framework (CAF) shapefile attribute table. EDA refers to Estuarine Drainage Area, and CDA refers to Coastal Drainage Area (a watershed which does not drain to a particular estuary). This means that "EDACDA" can refer to either type of watershed. | Description Source: EDACDA codes provided by NOAA's Coastal Assessment Framework (CAF).

Sub-watershed alphanumeric code taken directly from NOAA's Coastal Assessment Framework (CAF) shapefile attribute table. This allows for a somewhat finer scale charcases where large estuaries have sub-estuaries and associated sub-watersheds. | Description Source: EDASUBEDA codes provided by NOAA's Coastal Assessment Framework (CAF).

Polygon attribute automatically assigned to each polygon by ArcGIS | Description Source: Automatically assigned to each polygon by ArcGIS

Polygon attribute automatically assigned to each polygon by ArcGIS | Description Source: Automatically assigned to each polygon by ArcGIS

The NFHAP "Eutro Score" is based on the Overall Eutrophic Condition (OEC) as reported in the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment (NEEA)(Bricker et al. 2007, 1999). For each estuary considered in the NEEA, the OEC is estimated using both quantitative and categorical information on primary symptoms (chlorophyll A and macroalgal blooms) and secondary symptoms (impacts to dissolved oxygen, nuisance algal blooms, and impacts to SAV). The final estimated value for each estuary varies from 0 to 1 ? with 1 indicating a ?high? eutrophic condition. For the purposes of the NFHAP assessment, the Eutrophication Score was calculated as 1-OEC, so that 0 would represent poor condition, and 1 would represent good condition. These index values were then assigned percentile ranks, to transform their distribution from 0 to 1 with 0.5 as a median value. The resulting percentile rank is what was used as the final ?Eutrophication Score? in the NFHAP analysis. | Description Source: The NFHAP ?Eutrophication Score?, used as one of four coastal indicators in the 2010 NFHAP Assessment, was derived from an assessment completed in 2007: Effects of Nutrient Enrichment in the Nation?s Estuaries: A decade of Change (Bricker et al. 2007). In a few cases, assessment values were missing for some estuaries in the 2007 assessment, so results from the 1999 version of the assessment were substituted (Bricker et al. 1999).

The River Discharge Score or "Flow", as used in the NFHAP Coastal Assessment, was derived by calculating a percentile for each indicator score, and then recomputing a new percentile based on the average of the indicator scores. Mean annual discharge (MAD) was adjusted by drainage area, and minimum and maximum discharge was adjusted by MAD to facilitate comparisons across watersheds of variable size and discharge. | Description Source: The NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team used ten indicators of river discharge to determine a river discharge score or "Flow". Indicator data came from multiple sources including U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The NFHAP "Land Cover Score" represents changes in shoreline and coastal watershed landcover that likely affects estuaries. | Description Source: The ?Land Cover Score? was developed by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team and used as one of four coastal indicators in the 2010 NFHAP Assessment.

The NFHAP "Pollution Score" represents pollutants from the watershed as an indicator of toxic influence on estuarine habitats. | Description Source: The ?Pollution Score? was developed by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team and used as one of four coastal indicators in the 2010 NFHAP Assessment.

RHabDist is the overall NFHAP index of coatal habitat disturbance, calculated as a geometric mean of the four indicator scores for Eutrophication, Flow, Land Cover, and Pollutants. The combined score for each estuary was calculated by taking the geometric mean of the four disturbance indices (a disturbance score of zero was reassigned a value of one half the next lowest score so it could be included in the geometric mean calculation), which was then rescaled from 0 to 100 by calculating the percent rank. Due to data limitations, not all estuaries had an index for all four disturbance categories, so a combined score was assigned only when the estuary had at least three of the four disturbance indices. | Description Source: The ?Index of Habitat Disturbance? (RHabDist) was developed by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team and used as one of four coastal indicators in the 2010 NFHAP Assessment.

Identifies which of two published editions of the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment was used as the primary source of information contributing to the NFHAP "Eutro Score" indicator. Either Bricker et al. 2007, or Bricker et al. 1999, or null. | Description Source: The "Eutro_Ref" field was defined by NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team to identify one of two references (Bricker et al. 1999 and 2007):

Bricker, S., B. Longstaff, W. Dennison, A. Jones, K. Boicourt, C. Wicks, and J. Woerner. 2007. Effects of Nutrient Enrichment in the Nation's Estuaries: A Decade of Change. NOAA/NOS Center for Monitoring and Assessment. NOAA Coastal Ocean Program Decision Analysis Series No. 26. 322 pp.

Bricker S.B., C.G. Clement, D.E. Pirhalla, S.P. Orlando, and D.R.G. Farrow. 1999. National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment. Effects of Nutrient Enrichment in the Nation's Estuaries. NOAA/NOS Special Projects Office and National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Silver Spring, MD. 71 pp.

This value is an index of the severity and extent of the two primary eutrophic symptoms within an estuary ? phytoplankton abundance (as measured by chlorophyll a), and Macroalgal blooms. The index ranges from 0 to 1, where 1 = high expression of primary eutrophic conditions. Primary symptoms (phytoplankton and macroalgal abundance) represent the first possible stage of water quality degradation due to eutrophication. Because short-term nutrient measurements are highly variable, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations cannot be used as a measure of eutrophication. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment (Bricker et al. 2007, 1999)

This value is an index of the extent and severity of three secondary symptoms of eutrophication within an estuary ? low dissolved oxygen, impacts to submerged aquatic vegetation, and nuisance or toxic algal blooms. The index ranges from 0 to 1, where 1 = high expression of secondary eutrophic conditions. Secondary symptoms often represent a more advanced stage of eutrophication, with adverse impacts to fish populations and their habitats. However, in some cases secondary symptoms can occur without the presence of primary symptoms. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment (Bricker et al. 2007, 1999)

This value describes the Overall Eutrophic Condition in plain text, rather than as an index value. The rankings include five possible values: Low, Moderate Low, Moderate, Moderate High, and High. An estuary scored as ?High? typically has secondary symptoms scored as high, and primary symptoms scored as high or moderate. Rankings are taken directly from the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment (Bricker et al. 2007, 1999). | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment (Bricker et al. 2007, 1999)

This value describes the overall confidence in the rating in plain text, based on the scientific judgment of the authors (Bricker et al. 2007) as they evaluated the available data for each estuary. The rankings include only three possible values ? Low, Moderate, or High. This variable is described in detail on p. 20 of Bricker et al. 2007. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment (Bricker et al. 2007, 1999).

This ranking is reported in plain text, and has possible values of Worsen High, Worsen Low, No Change, Improve Low, Improve High, and Unknown. This ranking is It is determined by a matrix that combines the susceptibility of a system with expected changes in nutrient loads, as described on p. 19 of Bricker et al. 2007. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment (Bricker et al. 2007, 1999).

This variable is reported as plain text ? High, Moderate, or Low. Susceptibility is an estimate of the natural tendency of an estuary to retain or flush nutrients, based on dilution and flushing rates. Susceptibility is one of two major influencing factors, along with Nitrogen Loads. This ranking is described in more detail on p. 12 of Bricker et al. 2007. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment (Bricker et al. 2007, 1999)

This variable is reported as plain text - High, Moderate, Low, or Unknown. Nitrogen Loads, along with susceptibility, are considered the two major influencing factors for estuarine eutrophication. This ranking is described in more detail on p. 13 of Bricker et al. 2007. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from the National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment (Bricker et al. 2007, 1999)

Mine Density is the number of mines or mineral processing plants per watershed area, expressed as number of mines per square kilometer. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from USGS, Active Mines and Mineral Processing Plants, 2003.

TRI Site Density is the number of US EPA (TRI) designated toxic chemical release sites per watershed area, expressed as number of sites per square kilometer. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from geospatial data provided by US EPA (2007).

NPDES Site Density is the number of facilities with US EPA National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits per watershed area, expressed as sites per square kilometer. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from digital data provided by US EPA (2007).

CERCLA Site Density is the number of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) sites on the US EPA National Priority List (NPL) or Superfund (hazardous waste) sites established through CERCLA, per watershed area, expressed as sites per square kilometer. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. The variable is defined and taken directly from digital data provided by US EPA (2007).

The "Density Total Pollution Sources" per estuary (based on the total watershed area of the estuary) was calculated by summing the total number of pollutant source sites (TRI, NPDES, CERCLA, and Mines) and dividing this by the area of the watershed (km2). | Description Source: This variable was calculated as a composite of four other variables, and selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment.

The Shoreline Agriculture variable represents the percent coverage of agricultural land cover along the estuarine shoreline. Agricultural land cover is defined as NLDC ?cultivated? and ?pasture/hay? classes present in the grid cells adjacent to ?water? within estuaries. Percent coverage of agricultural land cover along the estuarine shoreline, expressed as a decimal proportion (from 0 to 1). | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Data Source: NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

The Shoreline Developed Land Cover Intensity variable represents the density-weighted percent coverage of developed land cover along the estuarine shoreline. Developed land cover is defined as NLDC ?developed open space,? ?low intensity developed,? ?medium intensity developed,? and ?high intensity developed? classes present in the grid cells adjacent to ?water? within estuaries. Shoreline Developed Land Cover Intensity variable represents the density-weighted percent coverage of developed land cover along the estuarine shoreline, calculated as a sum of area weighted by land cover class, expressed as sum of decimal proportion, potentially ranging from 0 to 2.5. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Data Source: NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

The Shoreline Estuarine Change variable represents the difference between 2006 and 1996 percent coverage of estuarine land cover along the estuarine shoreline. Estuarine land cover is defined as NLDC ?estuarine forested wetland,? estuarine scrub/shrub wetland,? ?estuarine emergent wetland,? and ?estuarine aquatic bed? classes present in the grid cells adjacent to ?water? within estuaries. Change in percent coverage of estuarine land cover along the estuarine shoreline, expressed as a difference in two decimal proportions, with a potential range of -1 to 1. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Data Source: NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

The Shoreline Palustrine Change variable represents the difference between 2006 and 1996 percent coverage of palustrine wetland land cover along the estuarine shoreline. Palustrine land cover is defined as NLDC ?palustrine forested wetland,? palustrine scrub/shrub wetland,? ?palustrine emergent wetland,? and ?palustrine aquatic bed? classes present in the grid cells adjacent to ?water? within estuaries. Change in percent coverage of palustrine land cover along the estuarine shoreline, expressed as a difference in two decimal proportions, with a potential range of -1 to 1. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFAHP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Data Source: NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

The Shoreline Undeveloped Land Cover Change variable represents the difference between 2006 and 1996 percent coverage of undeveloped land cover along the estuarine shoreline. Undeveloped land cover is defined as NLDC ?grassland,? deciduous forest,? evergreen forest,? mixed forest,? and "shrub/scrub? classes present in the grid cells adjacent to ?water? within estuaries. Change in percent coverage of undeveloped land cover along the estuarine shoreline, expressed as a difference in two decimal proportions, with a potential range of -1 to 1. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Data Source: NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

The Watershed Agriculture variable represents the percent coverage of agricultural land cover in an estuary?s watershed. Agricultural land cover is defined as National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) ?cultivated? and ?pasture/hay? classes present in the grid cells in the watershed, defined by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Framework. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Data Source: NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

The Watershed Developed Land Cover Intensity variable represents the density-weighted percent coverage of developed land cover in an estuary?s watershed. Developed land cover is defined as NLDC ?developed open space,? ?low intensity developed,? ?medium intensity developed,? and ?high intensity developed? classes present in the grid cells adjacent to ?water? within estuaries. Watershed Developed Land Cover Intensity variable represents the density-weighted percent coverage of developed land cover in an estuary's watershed, calculated as a sum of area weighted by land cover class, expressed as sum of decimal proportion, potentially ranging from 0 to 2.5. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Data Source: NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

The Watershed Estuarine Change variable represents the difference between 2006 and 1996 percent coverage of estuarine land cover in an estuary?s watershed. Estuarine land cover is defined as NLDC ?estuarine forested wetland,? estuarine scrub/shrub wetland,? ?estuarine emergent wetland,? and ?estuarine aquatic bed? classes present in the grid cells in the watershed, defined by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Framework. Change in percent coverage of estuarine land cover in an estuary's watershed, expressed as a difference in two decimal proportions, with a potential range of -1 to 1. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Data Source: NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

The Watershed Palustrine Change variable represents the difference between 2006 and 1996 percent coverage of palustrine wetland land cover in an estuary?s watershed. Palustrine land cover is defined as NLDC ?palustrine forested wetland,? palustrine scrub/shrub wetland,? ?palustrine emergent wetland,? and ?palustrine aquatic bed? classes present in the grid cells in the watershed, defined by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Framework. Change in percent coverage of palustrine land cover in an estuary's watershed, expressed as a difference in two decimal proportions, with a potential range of -1 to 1. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Data Source: NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

The Watershed Undeveloped Land Cover Change variable represents the difference between 2006 and 1996 percent coverage of undeveloped land cover in an estuary?s watershed. Undeveloped land cover is defined as NLDC ?grassland,? deciduous forest,? evergreen forest,? mixed forest,? and ?shrub/scrub? classes present in the in the watershed, defined by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Framework. Change in percent coverage of undeveloped land cover in an estuary's watershed, expressed as a difference in two decimal proportions, with a potential range of -1 to 1. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Data Source: NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP).

Mean Annual Discharge reports the average stream flow across the entire year into an estuary, for the 15 most recent years, in units of cubic feet per second (ft3/s). | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Source: USGS surface water data.

7-day Minimum Discharge reports the average flow during the seven consecutive lowest-flow days in a year, averaged across the 15 most recent years, in units of cubic feet per second (ft3/s). | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Source: USGS surface water data.

7-day Maximum Discharge reports the average flow during the seven consecutive highest-flow days in a year, averaged across the 15 most recent years, in units of cubic feet per second (ft3/s). | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Source: USGS surface water data.

Low Pulse Duration reports the average number of consecutive days of low flows (beneath the 25th percentile of daily flow), averaged over the 15 most recent years, in units of days. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Source: USGS surface water data.

High Pulse Duration reports the average number of consecutive days of high flows (above the 75th percentile of daily flow), averaged over the 15 most recent years, in units of days. | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Source: USGS surface water data.

This value reports the linear coefficient of the change in 7-day minimum discharge over the entire annual time series (= 35 years), in units of cubic feet per second per year (ft3/s/year). | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Source: USGS surface water data.

Trend in 7-day Maximum Discharge reports the linear coefficient of the change in 7-day maximum discharge over the entire annual time series (= 35 years), in units of cubic feet per second per year (ft3/s/year). | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Source: USGS surface water data.

Trend in Low Pulse Duration reports the linear coefficient of the change in low pulse duration across the entire annual time series (= 35 years), in units of days per year (days/year). | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Source: USGS surface water data.

Trend in High Pulse Duration reports the linear coefficient of the change in high pulse duration across the entire annual time series (= 35 years), in units of days per year (days/year). | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Source: USGS surface water data.

Dam Density reports the density of dams on tributary streams and rivers in an estuary?s entire fluvial watershed, in units of number of dams per square kilometer (dams/km2). | Description Source: This variable was selected by the NFHAP Coastal Assessment Team as information to supplement the NFHAP 2010 National Assessment. Dam data were summarized from the Army Corps of Engineers? National Inventory of Dams (NID).