OF 02-152 Home
DVD-ROM
Contents
Geologic
Discussion
GIS Data
Contacts
|
Background
Click on each figure below to view larger image. Click on figure number to go to figure-caption page for links to images in PDF format and for further explanation of the images.
This investigation was motivated
by: (a) the need to develop an environmentally acceptable solution
for the disposal of dredged material from the New York - New Jersey
Port; (b) the need to identify potential sources of sand for nourishment
of beaches along the south shore of Long Island; and (c) the opportunity
to develop a better understanding of the transport and fate of contaminants
introduced into the New York Bight over the past 100+ years (Schwab
and others, 1997a, 1997b). Over the past 80 years, the New York
Bight has received about 250 x 106 m3
of dredge spoils and construction refuse (Freeland and Swift, 1978;
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1996). In addition, about 125 x 106
m3 of sewage sludge also was disposed in the Sewage Sludge Site
(Fig. 2a) between 1923-1987 (O'Reilly
and others, 1992). Also, approximately
 |
Figure 2a. Map showing sidescan-sonar imagery of area with overlays showing sediment sample locations, bathymetry, and dumpsite locations.
|
6 x 106 m3 of dredged material must be disposed of each year to maintain
the port of New York and New Jersey, which serves a regional market
of about 15 million people (Fawsett and Marcus, 1991; Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey, 1996; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1996).
In 1997, the New York Bight Dredged Material Disposal Site (MSS)
was closed to further disposal, and the MSS and surrounding
area were designated as the Historic Area Redemption Site (HARS) (Fig.
2a). HARS is being remedied by placing a minimum one-meter thick
cap of clean dredged material (sand) on top of the existing surface
sediments, which exhibit varying degrees of degradation from previous
disposal activities.
As this and other uses of the sea floor in the New York Bight continue
into the future, State and Federal regulatory agencies and local
planners will benefit from a regional understanding of the transport
and accumulation of sediments and the near-surface stratigraphy
described here and in previous interim reports (Schwab and others,
1997a, 1997b, 2000a). The findings of similar mapping studies in
the region were reported by Schwab and others (1999, 2000b) and
Butman and others (1998).
To view files in PDF format, download free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html.
|
