The extent of lateral water movement in the sediments of a New England Salt Marsh

Models of depth‐averaged hydraulic head are used with data from a water balance study in a New England salt marsh to describe horizontal pore water water fluxes near a creek bank. Three hydrologically distinct regions are identified in the sediment. In the marsh studied, semidiurnal tides may drive an oscillating horizontal flux in the narrow region within about 2.5 m of the creek bank. Farther than 15 m from the creek there is essentially no horizontal water movement. In the region between 2.5 and 15 m, drainage to the creek is driven by alternating periods of surface flooding and nonflooding due to the spring neap variation in tidal amplitudes. There is little or no input of fresh groundwater to the marsh sediment at this site. The spatial extent of the drained region depends on the duration of the nonflooded period, the morphology of the sediment surface, and the ratio of hydraulic conductivity to specific storage of the sediment.