Multi-Century Record of Anthropogenic Impacts on an Urbanized Mesotidal Estuary: Salem Sound, MA

Salem, MA, located north of Boston, has a rich, well-documented history dating back to settlement in 1626 CE, but the associated anthropogenic impacts on Salem Sound are poorly constrained. This project utilized dated sediment cores from the sound to assess the proxy record of anthropogenic alterati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuaries and coasts 2018-03, Vol.41 (2), p.404-420
Main Authors: Hubeny, J. Bradford, Kristiansen, Ellen, Danikas, Andrew, Zhu, Jun, McCarthy, Francine M. G., Cantwell, Mark G., Warren, Barbara, Allen, Douglas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anthropogenic activities
Anthropogenic factors
Bays
Coastal Sciences
Composition
Conservation practices
Cores
Data
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Environment
Environmental Management
Estuaries
Estuarine dynamics
Estuarine environments
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Historical metallurgy
Human influences
Isotopes
Land use
land use change
Magnetic permeability
Magnetic susceptibility
magnetism
Massachusetts
Metal concentrations
monitoring
Organic matter
remediation
sediments
Sewage
Sewage disposal
Sewerage
Sound
Stable isotopes
Stratigraphy
tanneries
Tanning
Tanning industry
trace elements
Trace metals
urbanization
waste disposal
Water and Health
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Summary:Salem, MA, located north of Boston, has a rich, well-documented history dating back to settlement in 1626 CE, but the associated anthropogenic impacts on Salem Sound are poorly constrained. This project utilized dated sediment cores from the sound to assess the proxy record of anthropogenic alterations to the system and compared the proxy records to the known history. Proxies included bulk stable isotopes of organic matter, magnetic susceptibility, and trace metal concentrations. Our data reveal clear changes in organic matter composition and concentration associated with land use changes and twentieth century sewage disposal practices. Further, metal data correspond with local industrial activity, particularly the historic tanning industry in Peabody, MA. Although conservation practices of past decades have improved the state of Salem Sound, the stratigraphic record demonstrates that the environment is still affected by anthropogenic influences, and has not attained conditions consistent with pre-anthropogenic baseline. The approach and results of this study are applicable to coastal embayments that are being assessed for remediation, especially those with scant historic or monitoring data.
ISSN:1559-2723
1559-2731
DOI:10.1007/s12237-017-0298-y