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Estuarine sediment transport by gravity-driven movement of the nepheloid layer, Long Island Sound

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Abstract

Interpretation of sidescan-sonar imagery provides evidence that down-slope gravity-driven movement of the nepheloid layer constitutes an important mode of transporting sediment into the basins of north-central Long Island Sound, a major US East Coast estuary. In the Western Basin, this transport mechanism has formed dendritic drainage systems characterized by branching patterns of low backscatter on the seafloor that exceed 7.4 km in length and progressively widen down-slope, reaching widths of over 0.6 km at their southern distal ends. Although much smaller, dendritic patterns of similar morphology are also present in the northwestern part of the Central Basin. Because many contaminants display affinities for adsorption onto fine-grained sediments, and because the Sound is affected by seasonal hypoxia, mechanisms and dispersal pathways by which inorganic and organic sediments are remobilized and transported impact the eventual fate of the contaminants and environmental health of the estuary.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the officers and crews of the NOAA ship Rude and the US Merchant Marine Academy's RV Storm, without whose concentrated team effort completion of this project would not have been possible, and Don Rhoads for his helpful discussions. This work, which is part of a long-standing cooperative program to map the geology and better understand the sedimentary processes that have shaped and maintained Long Island Sound, was supported by the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the US Geological Survey, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and the Atlantic Hydrographic Branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This manuscript has benefited from critical reviews by Walter Barnhardt, Ben Gutierrez, and Jim Robb (all USGS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal and Marine Geology Program, USGS, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    L. J. Poppe, K. Y. McMullen & S. J. Williams

  2. Atlantic Hydrographic Branch, NOAA, Norfolk, VA, 23510, USA

    J. M. Crocker

  3. Long Island Sound Resource Center, CT-DEP, Avery Point, Groton, CT, 06340, USA

    E. F. Doran

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  1. L. J. Poppe
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  2. K. Y. McMullen
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  3. S. J. Williams
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  4. J. M. Crocker
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  5. E. F. Doran
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Correspondence to L. J. Poppe.

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Poppe, L.J., McMullen, K.Y., Williams, S.J. et al. Estuarine sediment transport by gravity-driven movement of the nepheloid layer, Long Island Sound. Geo-Mar Lett 28, 245–254 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-008-0118-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-008-0118-2

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