ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to evaluate the potential of habitat change and loss in coastal Everglades National Park under a high Sea level rise (SLR) scenario by year 2050 using the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM). SLAMM simulates the dominant processes involved in wetland conversions and shoreline modifications due to SLR. Since Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are essential baseline datasets used in SLAMM, model predictions are prone to the vertical accuracy and errors of DEMs. SLAMM also requires the input of accretion and erosion rates of dominant land cover types, which were derived from past studies in the Everglades. In order to run the SLAMM, the National Wetlands Inventory wetland categories in vector format need to be converted to SLAMM wetland categories in raster format. An important baseline dataset used in SLAMM is a light detection and ranging DEM because of improved vertical accuracy and resolution.
