Chunk Of Marsh Floating In Metedeconk River In Brick

BRICK, NJ — The U.S. Coast Guard issued a mariners warning Friday after a chunk of land broke off from a marsh and started floating in the Metedeconk River, authorities said.

The piece of land broke off from a marsh, New Jersey State Police Trooper Brandi Slota said. The chunk was floating in the middle of the Metedeconk but state police and the Coast Guard pushed it to the west end of the river, she said.

A Coast Guard spokesman said a mariners warning had been issued but said state police were in charge of the situation.

However, the piece of marsh was floating again Friday evening, according to a Shorebeat report.

Studies have been ongoing on what can cause salt marsh to break off. A 2012 study published in Science Daily found that nitrogen and phosphorus can undermine the health of the salt marsh, weakening it until it collapses.

A 2019 study published in Ecosphere that looked at salt marsh estuaries on the East and West coasts found the marine life can further undermine the marsh and cause it to break free.

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