GCE-LTER Project News
November 2026 CalendarWater Quality Cruise Flux Vegetation Monitoring Flux Tower Maintenance New or Updated Publications10/13/2026 –
Spivak, A.C. 2026. Probabilistic Forecasting of Coastal Wetland Elevation and Soil Carbon Response to Sea-Level Rise. Ecological Monographs. 96(3). (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.70079) 08/24/2026 –
Zhang, Y., Guo, Y., Yang, S. and Pennings, S.C. 2026. Green‑on‑green conflicts between ecological and energy engineering along China’s coast. Communications Sustainability. 2026(1):134. (DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s44458-026-00134-7) Latest Data Releases10/01/2026 – Data Revision
Anomalous variance patterns were recently discovered while performing a retrospective analysis of sonde data collected in 2016. Specifically, we observed an abrupt decrease in conductivity and salinity variance at GCE6_Hydro and concommitant increase in variance at GCE10_Hydro that exactly corresponded with the March to August 2016 instrument deployments. After forensic analysis of the original files and logs we determined that the downloaded files were mislabeled, leading to data from GCE6_Hydro being misattributed to GCE10_Hydro and vice versa. All of the affected data sets in the GCE Data Catalog, Data Portal and Provisional Data Archives have now been corrected, and we encourage anyone who has used these data in an analysis to review the changes. We apologize for the oversight. 11/25/2025 – Data Revision
The data set "Long-term water quality monitoring in the Altamaha River near Doctortown, Georgia" (https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?accession=NUT-GCEM-1909) was revised to correct data reported in incorrect units. Nitrate concentrations were mistakenly reported in parts per million (ppm) instead of parts per billion (ppb) for samples taken between November 2019 and December 2022. These data have been converted to the correct units and have been republished. 08/26/2024 – Data Release
Data sets PLT-GCEM-2012 "Long-term monitoring of seven high marsh plant mixtures on Sapelo Island GA" and PLT-GCEM-1309 "Annual monitoring of high marsh plots dominated by Juncus and Borrichia" have been updated to include recent data. Latest File Uploads10/29/2026 – Photograph 10/29/2026 – Photograph 10/29/2026 – Photograph 10/19/2026 – Photograph 10/19/2026 – Photograph |
GCE Project Announcements10/23/2026 – Monitoring Program
Fall monitoring 2026 is mostly done, with just a few loose ends to wrap up. We were lucky to have good weather and lots of help. Thank you everyone from multiple labs who participated and helped it get done!  Fall monitoring is wrapping up. 2026 10/20/2026 – Announcement
The Kostka Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology invites applications for a PhD student position focused on the ecology, resilience, and restoration of coastal salt marshes. The student will join an interdisciplinary research collaboration with the Bald Head Island Conservancy (https://bhic.org/), investigating how environmental change and disturbance affect salt marsh ecosystems and how nature-based solutions can support their conservation and recovery. The start date is early August, 2027. (contact Steve Pennings for additional information)10/17/2026 – Monitoring Program
Fall monitoring is underway! We're sampling plants and invertebrates at 13 GCE core monitoring sites. Sampling this year includes a one-time sampling of crab species composition at all the sites.  In the marsh doing the fall monitoring 10/08/2026 – Publication News
Steve and collaborators recently published a paper on "centrifugal organization" of salt marsh plant communities. What centrifugal organization means is that there is a single optimum habitat (in this case where Juncus occurs) but more than one poor or stressful habitat (in this case, regularly flooded areas where Spartina dominates, and very salty areas where Batis and Sarcocornia dominate). All the species would like to live where Juncus does, but most are excluded from the optimum habitat by competition. We argue that similar processes occur in New England, but the salty habitat is only revealed after wrack disturbance, and is temporary, whereas in low latitudes it is permanent (salt pans). (contact Steve Pennings for additional information)10/06/2026 – Employment
The Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER program seeks a research technician to assist with studies of coastal ecology. Work will involve studies of water quality, soils, and wetland plants and animals. This Research Technician II position is based at the UGA Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, GA. The selected individual will work with other technicians, faculty and students at the field site. 09/01/2026 – Personnel News
GCE Technician Emily Pace has recently moved to Talahassee, Fl where she will be the supervising the chlorophyll analysis team for the Department of Environmental Protection's DEAR program. DEAR (Division of Environmental Assessment and Resoration) develops and adopts Florida's surface water quality standards, monitors and reports on surface water and groundwater quality, and assesses rivers, lakes, estuaries and springs to identify pollution problems. Emily was an oustanding technician, a great friend, and prolific shark tooth hunter during her time on Sapelo Island. She'll be sorely missed by GCE personnel, UGAMI staff and Sapelo residents, but we are happy to see her pursue her dreams. (contact John Williams for additional information)» Add Announcement or Update Announcement (GCE only) » Subscribe to the GCENEWS-L Email List (weekly GCE newsletter) » View/Search Recent GCE Announcements |
