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

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 mec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geo-marine letters 2008-08, Vol.28 (4), p.245-254
Main Authors: Poppe, L. J., McMullen, K. Y., Williams, S. J., Crocker, J. M., Doran, E. F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brackish
Contaminants
Drainage systems
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Environmental health
Environmental monitoring
Estuaries
Geology
Hypoxia
Marine
Ocean bottom
Ocean floor
Oceanography
Organic sediments
Original
Sediment transport
Sedimentation & deposition
Sonar
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0276-0460
1432-1157
DOI:10.1007/s00367-008-0118-2