Microfossil (benthic foraminifera) samples were obtained from surficial grab (denoted with “G”) and push core (denoted with “M”) sediments collected in Grand Bay estuary, Mississippi and Alabama, to aid in the paleoenvironmental understanding of Grand Bay estuary. The data presented here were collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Sea-level and Storm Impacts on Estuarine Environments and Shorelines (SSIEES) project, and Barrier Island Evolution Research (BIER) project. Sampling was conducted in May 2016 [field activity number (FAN) 2016-331-FA, alternate FAN 16CCT03]. In the field, 15 cores were collected in tidal creek mouths, proximal to tidal creek mouths, in protected coves, and in the open Grand Bay estuary. Surface samples were collected at each core site location. At the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), 13 of the 15 cores were selectively subsampled for foraminifera, resulting in a total of 64 push core subsamples. Estuarine surface grab samples and push core subsamples were processed in the laboratory to three size fractions (63–125 micrometers (μm), 125–850 μm, and >850 μm), of which the 125–850 μm fraction was picked. The raw foraminiferal count data from the picked subsamples are provided below. For further information regarding foraminiferal collection and/or processing methods, refer to Ellis and others (2017a, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1060). For information regarding 16CCT03 site locations, water quality parameters and sediment properties, refer to Marot and others (2019, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9FO8R3Y). For related datasets from the Mississippi Sound area, please refer to Haller and others (2018a, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7MC8X5F; and 2018b, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7445KSG), Ellis and others (2018, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171165), Ellis and others (2017b, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1046), and DeWitt and others (2017, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1070). Downloadable data are available as Excel spreadsheets, comma-separated values text files, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata.

This GIS layer provides the location where samples were taken in a survey conducted by R.N. Reid, et al (1979)

This data layer provides the location where samples were taken in a survey conducted by P. Pellegrino and W. Hubbard (1983)

This GIS layer provides the location where samples were taken in a survey conducted by P.L. McCall (1975)

This GIS layer provides the location where samples were taken in a survey conducted by D. Franz (1976)

Microfossil (benthic foraminifera) and coordinate/elevation data were obtained from sediments collected in the coastal zones of Mississippi and Alabama, including marsh and estuarine environments of eastern Mississippi Sound and Mobile Bay, in order to develop a census for coastal environments and to aid in paleoenvironmental reconstruction. These data provide a baseline dataset for use in future wetland and estuarine change studies and assessments, both descriptive and predictive types. The data presented here were collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Sea-level and Storm Impacts on Estuarine Environments and Shorelines (SSIEES) project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/ssiees), Barrier Island Evolution Research (BIER) project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/bier), and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation-funded Alabama Barrier Island Restoration Feasibility Study (a collaborative study between the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Mobile District; the State of Alabama; and the USGS [https://www.usgs.gov/centers/spcmsc/science/alabama-barrier-island-restoration-study]). These projects aim to assess ecological and societal vulnerability that results from long- and short-term physical changes to barrier islands and coastal wetlands. Four sampling surveys were conducted between 2013 and 2016: 13BIM01 (14–18 April 2013; no FA numbering), 14CCT01 (15–19 September 2014; 2014-323-FA), 15BIM09 (18–20 August 2015; 2015-322-FA), and 16CCT03 (16–17 May 2016; 2016-331-FA). During the four trips, 168 replicate sedimentary samples were collected from 86 marsh and estuarine locations. The sediment samples were collected from various coastal environments, stained in the field with rose Bengal (rB) to indicate life, processed in the laboratory to four size fractions (63–125 μm, 125–250 μm, 250–850 μm, and >850 μm), of which the 125–250 μm and 250–850 μm fractions were picked at equal proportions of total sample and reported combined (125–850 μm). Foraminifera were identified to species level under a binocular microscope and counted to establish a census. For further information regarding foraminiferal collection and/or processing methods, refer to Ellis and others (2017). For related datasets from the Mississippi Sound area, please refer to Ellis and others (2017) and DeWitt and others (2017).

Geophysical properties (P-wave velocity, gamma ray density, and magnetic susceptibility), geochronologic (radiocarbon, excess Lead-210, and Cesium-137), and geochemical data (organic carbon content and 60 element contents) are reported for select vibracores collected aboard the S/V Retriever October 17-20, 2016, in San Pablo Bay, California. Geophysical properties were measured with a Geotek Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL). Radiocarbon was measured by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Excess Lead-210 and Cesium-137 activities were measured by gamma-ray counting in a high purity, low background germanium well detector (HPGe). Total organic carbon was measured in bulk sediment. Element contents were determined on the less than 0.063 mm (fine) size fraction of sediment by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Microfossil (benthic foraminifera) data from coastal areas were collected from state and federally managed lands within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Grand Bay, Mississippi/Alabama; federally managed lands of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on Cedar Island and Little Dauphin Island, Alabama; and municipally managed land around Dauphin Island, Alabama. Samples were analyzed and quantified for foraminiferal census in order to document changes to the coastal wetlands, estuarine environments, and to aid in paleoenvironmental reconstruction. These data provide a baseline dataset for use in future wetland change descriptive and predictive studies and assessments. The data presented here were collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Sea-level and Storm Impacts on Estuarine Environments and Shorelines (SSIEES) project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/ssiees), Barrier Island Evolution Research (BIER) project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/bier), and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation-funded Alabama Barrier Island Restoration Feasibility Study (a collaborative study between the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Mobile District; the State of Alabama; and the USGS [https://www.usgs.gov/centers/spcmsc/science/alabama-barrier-island-restoration-study]). These projects aim to assess ecological and societal vulnerability that results from long- and short-term physical changes to barrier islands and coastal wetlands. Two sampling surveys were conducted between 2014 and 2015: 14CCT01 (15–19 September 2014; 2014-323-FA), and 15BIM09 (18–20 August 2015; 2015-322-FA). During those two trips, seven Russian peat auger cores were taken from marsh locations. Three cores from Dauphin Island were subsampled and stained with rose Bengal (rB) in the field to indicate life. Four further cores from Dauphin Island and Grand Bay were not stained. At the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center all cores were subsampled resulting in a total of 74 subsamples. Samples were processed in the laboratory to four size fractions (63–125 μm, 125–250 μm, 250–850 μm, and >850 μm), of which the 125–250 μm and 250–850 μm fractions were picked at equal proportions of total sample and reported combined (125–850 μm). For additional information regarding foraminiferal collection and/or processing methods, refer to Ellis and others (2017). Further data collected on and surrounding Dauphin Island is presented in Ellis and others (2017) and Ellis and others (2018).