Field Placement and Evaluation of Stabilized Dredged Material (SDM) from the New York/New Jersey Harbor

Since the 1997 local ban on ocean dumping of dredged sediments, the States of New York and New Jersey have pursued a policy of environmentally sound solutions to the management of dredged material, including beneficial use of stabilized dredged material (SDM) in transportation applications. A pilot study was initiated in 1998 to evaluate the use of SDM in the construction of highway embankments. Utilizing 80,000 cubic yards of dredged material, two embankments were constructed from SDM on a commercial development area adjacent to the Harbor. Geotechnical properties and handling of SDM were evaluated both during and one year post - construction. This article presents the evaluation of the embankments themselves, including constructability and performance. The results demonstrate that SDM satisfies most of the geotechnical criteria for fill construction, except those for durability, requiring proper coverage and protection similar to that provided for fills constructed on cohesive soils. This same characteristic precludes long term stockpiling of SDM prior to final placement, limiting applications to those that have schedules overlapping with dredging projects. Increased costs for the use of SDM can be as high as $8 per cubic yard over traditional fills; however, this cost may be recouped through management fees collected from dredging projects.     

Frequency of tidal storm surge at New York harbor (New York) and Newark bay (New Jersey)

A joint probability analysis of storm tides is made for the Battery, New York (U.S.A.), and Newark Bay, New Jersey (U.S.A.). Storm tides are caused by either low-pressure coastal storms (northeasters) or hurricanes. The analysis uses existing gage data at the Battery to construct frequency/probability curves of peak surge elevations and tidal amplitudes. These are used in a computer program to combine standard storm surge stages and tidal stage curves to produce an artificial storm tide with given peak elevation and incremental frequency. These peak elevations and incremental frequencies are ranked to produce cumulative frequency curves for northeasters and hurricanes. A frequency curve is obtained for Newark Bay via correlation.     

湛江港海域海水和表层沉积物重金属分布特征及其污染评价

根据2013年01月(冬季)和2013年06月(夏季)的调查数据对湛江港海域海水和表层沉积物中的重金属(铜、锌、铅、镉、砷和汞)进行了研究,调查结果显示调查海域海水和表层沉积物中重金属含量呈现岸边海域高于深海海域,东海岛北面海域高于东面海域;对比冬季和夏季的调查结果,调查海域海水中重金属平均含量夏季高于冬季。用单项污染指数对海水中的重金属进行了评价,结果表明,冬、夏两季海水中的Pb污染较明显,Cu和Zn轻度污染,其余元素(Cd,As和Hg)均未超过相应的国家海水水质标准限值,夏季重金属污染指数高于冬季,可能与陆源重金属污染物入海的影响有关;表层沉积物中重金属均低于相应的标准限值,沉积物环境质量状况良好。采用瑞典科学家H覿kanson的潜在生态危害指数法进行评价,沉积物中重金属的潜在生态危害较轻,生态危害程度HgAsCdPbCuZn。     

Meiobenthic communities of seagrass beds (Zostera capricorni) and unvegetated sediments along the coast of New South Wales,Australia

Seagrass beds have higher biomass, abundance, diversity and productivity of benthic organisms than unvegetated sediments. However, to date most studies have analysed only the macrofaunal component and ignored the abundant meiofauna present in seagrass meadows. This study was designed to test if meiobenthic communities, especially the free-living nematodes, differed between seagrass beds and unvegetated sediments. Sediment samples from beds of the eelgrass Zostera capricorni and nearby unvegetated sediments were collected in three estuaries along the coast of New South Wales, Australia. Results showed that sediments below the seagrass were finer, with a higher content of organic material and were less oxygenated than sediments without seagrass. Univariate measures of the fauna (i.e. abundance, diversity and taxa richness of total meiofauna and nematode assemblages) did not differ between vegetated and unvegetated sediments. However multivariate analysis of meiofaunal higher taxa showed significant differences between the two habitats, largely due to the presence and absence of certain taxa. Amphipods, tanaidacea, ostracods, hydrozoans and isopods occurred mainly in unvegetated sediments, while kinorhyncs, polychaetes, gastrotrichs and turbellarians were more abundant in vegetated sediments. Regarding the nematode assemblages, 32.4% of the species were restricted to Z. capricorni and 25% only occurred in unvegetated sediments, this suggests that each habitat is characterized by a particular suite of species. Epistrate feeding nematodes were more abundant in seagrass beds, and it is suggested that they graze on the microphytobenthos which accumulates underneath the seagrass. Most of the genera that characterized these estuarine unvegetated sediments are also commonly found on exposed sandy beaches. This may be explained by the fact that Australian estuaries have very little input of freshwater and experience marine conditions for most of the year. This study demonstrates that the seagrass and unvegetated sediments have discrete meiofaunal communities, with little overlap in species composition.     

The initiation of the southern central Great Barrier Reef: New multiproxy data from Pleistocene distal sediments from the Marion Plateau (NE Australia)

Significant synchronous shifts in the chemistry, mineralogy, grain sizes and color of the sediments at 6 m below sea floor (mbsf) at ODP Site 1195 on the Marion Plateau (NE Australia) are interpreted to reflect a major regional paleoceanographic change: the initiation of the southern province of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The onset of this massive carbonate production centre nearby resulted primarily in increased deposition of carbonate-rich sediments of neritic origin. Both sedimentation rate and terrigenous input record a coincident decline attributed to inshore trapping of materials behind the reefs. Our best estimate places the development of reef framework in the southern part of the GBR between 560 and 670 kyr B.P., based on an age model combining magnetostratigraphic and biostratigraphic data. The proposed estimation agrees with previous studies reporting an age between 500 and 930 kyr B.P., constraining more tightly their results. However, it does not support research placing the birth of the GBR in Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 ( 400 kyr), nor the theory of a worldwide modern barrier reef development at that time.     

The life history and sexual biology of Pseudunciola obliquua (crustacea: amphipoda) in the New York Bight

Pseudunciola obliquua is the most abundant subtidal amphipod of the near-shore macrobenthos in the New York Bight south of Fire Island. It has an annual life-cycle. Breeding occurs in March and April, and a single brood of between 8 and 20 eggs per female is produced. Fecundity is linearly proportional to maternal length. The eggs take about two months to develop; the juveniles emerge in June and July. Initial recruitment in the study area was estimated to be 2980 and 5850 per m² for the 1979–1980 and 1980–1981 year classes, respectively. Of the initial recruits only about 10% survive to form the reproductive stock of the following spring.Females and males grow at similar rates and are equally abundant as juveniles and initially as adults, until they reach sexual maturity. After breeding, the abundance of males decreases rapidly due to post-reproductive death. Females continue to live, carrying the developing eggs in their brood pouches. Mean female growth increases throughout the brooding period until the young are released, shortly after which adult females also die. The entire generation of reproductive adults has died by September.     

Using a GIS to Examine Changes in the Bathymetry of Borrow Pits and in Lower Bay, New York Harbor, USA

Standard analyses with geographic information systems (GIS) and the publicly available GEODAS database were used to highlight bathymetric changes in the Lower Bay complex of New York Harbor. Dredging operations have deepened much of the Lower Bay complex. Approximately 6,580 hectares, or 20% of the bay bottom surveyed in 1934, was deeper in 1979/1982 than during 1934. Half of this deepening, 3,219 hectares or 10% of the bay bottom surveyed during 1934, was deeper by at least 2 m. Surveys conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of three borrow pits in the central part of the Lower Bay complex were used to examine sedimentation over a 16-year period from 1979 to 1995. Results were consistent with studies conducted during the 1970s and 1980s that show the pits function as sediment traps. Between 1979 and 1995, sediment accumulated at rates of 6 to 12 cm per year in many portions of the borrow pits.     

Using a GIS to Examine Changes in the Bathymetry of Borrow Pits and in Lower Bay,New York Harbor,USA

Standard analyses with geographic information systems (GIS) and the publicly available GEODAS database were used to highlight bathymetric changes in the Lower Bay complex of New York Harbor. Dredging operations have deepened much of the Lower Bay complex. Approximately 6,580 hectares, or 20% of the bay bottom surveyed in 1934, was deeper in 1979/1982 than during 1934. Half of this deepening, 3,219 hectares or 10% of the bay bottom surveyed during 1934, was deeper by at least 2 m. Surveys conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of three borrow pits in the central part of the Lower Bay complex were used to examine sedimentation over a 16-year period from 1979 to 1995. Results were consistent with studies conducted during the 1970s and 1980s that show the pits function as sediment traps. Between 1979 and 1995, sediment accumulated at rates of 6 to 12 cm per year in many portions of the borrow pits.     

东海赤潮高发区表层沉积物中部分脂类标记物的分布与来源

通过对2005年和2006年东海赤潮高发区表层沉积物部分脂类标记物（正构烷烃、脂肪酸等）的分析,初步探讨了表层沉积物有机物的来源。沉积物中正构烷烃的碳优势指数Icp值及姥鲛烷／植烷的质量比（Pr／Ph）普遍较低,而n-C16,n-C18的质量分数较高。分析表明,石油烃是东海赤潮高发区表层沉积物脂肪烃的主要成分。来源于细菌、海洋微藻和陆生高等植物的脂肪酸如直链饱和脂肪酸、支链饱和脂肪酸、不（多不）饱和脂肪酸等在2005～2006年间的组成和分布比较稳定：直链脂肪酸含量普遍较高,其次为支链脂肪酸和单不饱和脂肪酸,多不饱和脂肪酸含量相对较少。利用生物标记物分析表明,海洋自生生物源（细菌、海洋微藻等）是沉积物中脂肪酸的主要来源,陆源脂肪酸对东海赤潮高发区表层沉积物的贡献较小。     

Habitat selection and quality for multiple cohorts of young-of-the-year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix): Comparisons between estuarine and ocean beaches in southern New Jersey

In this study, seasonal and annual variability in the use of estuarine and ocean beaches by young-of-the-year bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, was evaluated by indices of abundance in coastal areas of southern New Jersey (1998–2000). Biological and physical factors measured at specific sites were correlated with bluefish abundance to determine the mechanisms underlying habitat selection. In addition, integrative and discrete indicators of bluefish growth were used to examine spatio-temporal dynamics in habitat quality and its effect on habitat selection by multiple cohorts of bluefish. Intra-annual recruitment to coastal areas of southern New Jersey was episodic, and resulted from the ingress of spring-spawned bluefish (hatch-date April) to estuarine beaches in late May to early June, followed by the recruitment of summer-spawned fish (hatch-date early July) to ocean beaches from July to October. Bluefish utilized estuarine and ocean beaches in a facultative manner that was responsive to dynamics in prey composition and temperature conditions. The recruitment and residency of bluefish in the estuary (1998–1999) and ocean beaches (1998), for example, was coincidental with the presence of the Atlantic silverside Menidia menidia and bay anchovy Anchoa mitchilli, the principal prey species for bluefish occupying these respective habitat-types. Bluefish abundance in the estuary (2000) and ocean beaches (1999–2000) was also correlated with water temperature, with the greatest catches of juveniles coinciding with their optimal growth temperature (24 °C). Bluefish growth, estimated as the slope of age–length relationships and daily specific growth rates, equaled 1.27–2.63 mm fork length (FL) d⁻¹ and 3.8–8.7% body length increase d⁻¹, respectively. The growth of sagittal otoliths was also used as a proxy for changes in bluefish size during and shortly before their time of capture. Accordingly, otolith growth rates of summer-spawned bluefish were greater at ocean beaches relative to the estuary and were explained by the more suitable temperature conditions found at ocean beaches during the mid- to late summer. Notwithstanding the fast growth of oceanic summer-spawned bluefish, individuals spawned in the spring were still larger in absolute body size at the end of the summer growing season (240 and 50–200 mm FL for spring- and summer-spawned bluefish, respectively). The size discrepancy between spring- and summer-spawned bluefish at the onset of autumn migrations and during overwintering periods may account for the differential recruitment success of the respective cohorts.     

Variation in microbial biomass and community structure in sediments of peter the great bay (sea of japan/east sea), as estimated from fatty acid biomarkers

Variation in the microbial biomass and community structure found in sediment of heavily polluted bays and the adjacent unpolluted areas were examined using phospholipid fatty acid analysis. Total microbial biomass and microbial community structure were responding to environmental determinants, sediment grain size, depth of sediment, and pollution due to petroleum hydrocarbons. The marker fatty acids of microeukaryotes and prokaryotes - aerobic, anaerobic, and sulfate-reducing bacteria -were detected in sediments of the areas studied. Analysis of the fatty acid profiles revealed wide variations in the community structure in sediments, depending on the extent of pollution, sediment depth, and sediment grain size. The abundance of specific bacterial fatty acids points to the dominance of prokaryotic organisms, whose composition differed among the stations. Fatty acid distributions in sediments suggest the high contribution of aerobic bacteria. Sediments of polluted sites were significantly enriched with anaerobic bacteria in comparison with clean areas. The contribution of this bacterial group increased with the depth of sediments. Anaerobic bacteria were predominantly present in muddy sediments, as evidenced from the fatty acid profiles. Relatively high concentrations of marker fatty acids of sulfate-reducing bacteria were associated with organic pollution in this site. Specific fatty acids of microeukaryotes were more abundant in surface sediments than in deeper sediment layers. Among the microeukaryotes, diatoms were an important component. Significant amounts of bacterial biomass, the predominance of bacterial biomarker fatty acids with abundance of anaerobic and sulfate-reducing bacteria are indicative of a prokaryotic consortium responsive to organic pollution.     

Habitat characteristics and spatial arrangement affecting the diversity of fish and decapod assemblages of seagrass (Zostera marina) beds around the coast of Jersey (English Channel)

Recent research and management plans for seagrass habitats have called for landscape level approaches. The present study examines the spatial utilisation of subtidal seagrass beds by fish and decapods around the coast of Jersey (49°N 02° W). A hierarchical scale of landscape configuration and the plant characteristics of eight seagrass beds were measured and the contributions of these variables as predictors of the properties of the fish and decapod assemblages were evaluated using multiple linear regression models. The results indicated that total diversity had a negative relationship with transect heterogeneity and total species number had a weak negative association with increasing fragmentation. Both total diversity and total species number showed a positive relationship with depth. In fact, in all models of species number and densities, values were higher in deeper seagrass beds. Total decapod density increased with aggregation of seagrass patches within a landscape. In addition to landscape configuration, smaller-scale structural changes in both canopy height and epiphyte load appeared to influence densities of decapod crustaceans. At night, fewer patterns could be explained by the independent variables in the model.     

一种新型电镀法制备的Ir/Ir(OH)x pH电极及其在加州纽波特港海域的应用研究

Resulting from the rising levels of atmospheric carbon, ocean acidification has become a global problem. It has significant impacts on the development, survival, growth and physiology of marine organisms. Therefore, a highprecision sensor is urgently needed to measure the pH of sea-water. Iridium wire with a diameter of 0.25 mm is used as the substrate, and an Ir/Ir(OH)_x pH electrode is prepared by a one-step electrochemical method in a Li OH solution at the room temperature. A scanning electron microscope(SEM) observation reveals that it is coated with nanoscale particles. In laboratory tests, the electrode exhibits a very promising pH response, with an ideal Nernst slope(56.14–59.52), fast response, good stability and long life-span in tested pH buffer solutions. For a sea trial,four pH electrodes and one Ag/Ag Cl reference electrode are integrated with a self-made chemical sensor, and a profile detection of nearly 70 m is implemented near Newport Harbor, California on August 3, 2015. The results reflect that the pH value measured by the sensor is very close to the data given by Sea-Bird 911 plus CTD, with a difference value ranging from 0.000 075 to 0.064 719. And the sensor shows a better data matching degree in 0–40m water depth. In addition, the high precision and accuracy of the sensor make it possible to use in the ocean observation field.     

日照近岸海域表层沉积物中多环芳烃(PAHs)来源的识别和解析

利用GC-MS测定日照近岸海域表层沉积物中多环芳烃(PAHs)浓度,采用低环与中高环PAHs的相对丰度以及同分异构体的比值方法,初步解析出表层沉积物中PAHs主要来自于燃煤(工业燃煤、民用燃煤)、燃油(柴油燃烧、汽油燃烧)、焦化、柴油泄漏、木材燃烧等污染源.通过查阅文献获取上述污染源相关源成分谱,应用降解因子修正后的化学质量平衡模型(EPA CMB8.2)对表层沉积物中PAHs的来源进行定量解析.结果表明研究区域内表层沉积物中PAHs的主要来源为燃煤源(工业燃煤、民用燃煤)、柴油燃烧和柴油泄漏,其相对贡献率分别为75.70%,15.05%和9.25%.     

Growth rates of the infaunal bivalve Soletellina alba (Lamarck, 1818) (Bivalvia: Psammobiidae) in an intermittent estuary of southern Australia

Caging and a mark–recapture design were used to estimate the growth rate of the brittle, infaunal bivalve Soletellina alba in the Hopkins River estuary. The growth of both caged and uncaged individuals was monitored at three sites near the mouth of the estuary over 180 days. Growth rates did not differ for caged and uncaged bivalves, or for bivalves subject to different amounts of handling, or between sites. Growth did differ between consecutive time intervals, which was attributable to negligible growth occurring during the colder months of autumn/winter. Comparisons of the condition (as indicated by total mass for length³) of S. alba were inconsistent between sites for caged and uncaged bivalves and for those subject to different amounts of handling. Soletellina alba is a rapidly growing bivalve with mean growth rates for the three time intervals being 0.04±0.002 mm day⁻¹ in summer, 0.02±0.001 mm day⁻¹ in autumn and 0.03±0.001 mm day⁻¹ from summer to winter. Using existing literature, it was shown that a significant relationship exists between maximum shell length and onset of sexual maturity in bivalve molluscs. This relationship predicts that S. alba should reach the onset of sexual maturity at 15.8 mm length. Therefore, it appears that it may be possible for juvenile S. alba (<1 mm) to grow, reach sexual maturity and reproduce in between annual mass-mortality events caused by winter flooding.     

The rate of infill and colonization by invertebrates of borrow pits in the Wash (S.E. England)

The outer borrow pit had a volume of 458 000 m³ when excavated and was further increased (by 22 500 m³) by the erosion of a lagoon, but was completely infilled in 3·5 years. The rate of sedimentation in the outer borrow pit, though declining with time, was considerably greater than previously recorded rates for intertidal banks and probably accounted for the paucity of fauna in the pit until completely infilled. Poorly sorted, unconsolidated, anaerobic, clay and silt sediments initially accumulated in the outer pit with up to 5 cm liquid mud at the surface, but after 2 years the predominant fraction was fine sand. Only Nepthys hombergii became established in the outer borrow pit before the pit was completely infilled, when the other pre-excavation, dominant species returned. The expectation that Capitella capitata and oligochaete species (opportunistic, ‘pollution indicator’ species) would be the first colonizers was not realized, though the oligochaete, Tubificoides benedeni was the most abundant species in the more consolidated, sandier sediments in the inner borrow pit 4 years after its excavation. The density of invertebrates in the inner pit was greater than the surrounding mud flats and was a focus for birds feeding in the area. The outer borrow pit after complete infill also had higher desities of bird food species than before excavation but was rarely visited by birds.     

Utilization of pneumatic flow tube mixing technique (PFTM) for processing and stabilization of contaminated soft sediments in the NY/NJ Harbor

A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the use of the pneumatic flow tube mixing method for stabilization and solidification of soft sediments dredged from the New York/New Jersey Harbor. The study included a comprehensive laboratory investigation aimed at determining the ideal mix for pneumatic flow tube mixing stabilization, and a pilot-scale demonstration of the pneumatic flow tube mixing technique in the field. Material stabilized during the demonstration was analyzed through unconfined compression tests, needle tests, laboratory vane shear tests, and flow tests in the laboratory and the cone penetration test in the field. Curing times for the samples were 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. The three cement content mixes were 4, 8, and 12% by weight (wet weight). Pneumatic flow tube mixing was demonstrated to be an efficient and rapid method for soft sediment stabilization with the resulting material showing uniform quality of mix meeting, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s geotechnical and environmental fill placement criteria.     

Calanoid copepod resting egg abundance and hatching success in the sediment of the Seine estuary (France)

Benthic, viable resting eggs of calanoid copepods were found for the first time in the Seine estuary (France) during July 2008. Vertical distribution of the resting eggs in the sediment was determined up to 10 cm depth. Hatching success of the eggs extracted from different 1-cm thick sediment layers was experimentally tested immediately after extraction and after a long refractory phase (i.e. 11 months) of storage at low temperature (4–5 °C). The hatching success of resting eggs obtained immediately after sediment incubation was lower (0.72%) than the value observed after 11 months (4.50%) with an overall hatching success of 2.37%. The marine, calanoid copepod Temora longicornis was the primary species to hatch from the eggs; however, the estuarine calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis also hatched from resting eggs. The mean abundance of eggs found in sediment (1.42 × 10⁶ eggs m⁻²) was comparable to that reported for other marine and estuarine calanoid copepods. The Seine estuary sediment had a high variability of egg abundance (between 0.14 and 8.10 × 10⁷ eggs m⁻³) suggesting that the hydrodynamics of this macrotidal estuary are likely responsible for this variability. Significant sediment resuspension occurs in the Seine estuary during flood periods and spring tides leading to resting eggs to contribute along the year to the nauplii recruitment of calanoid copepods. On average, around 400,000 nauplii m⁻³ month⁻¹ of the main calanoid copepods can emerge from the surface layer sediment in the Seine estuary, suggesting that resting eggs could play an important role in the population dynamics of key calanoid copepods in the Seine estuary.     

The environmental implication of diatom fossils in the surface sediment of the Changjiang River estuary(CRE) and its adjacent area

In order to depict the distribution of diatom fossils in surface sediments and to establish a reliable reference data for further paleoenvironmental study in the Changjiang (Yangtze) River estuary and its adjacent waters, the diatom fossils from 34 surface sediment samples and their relationship with environmental variables were analyzed by principal component analysis and redundancy correspondence analysis. The diversity and abundance of diatom fossils were analyzed. Some annual average parameters of the overlying water (salinity, temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, depth, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, dissolved inorganic phosphate and dissolved inorganic silicate) were measured at each sampling site. A total of 113 diatom taxa and one silicoflagellate species were identified in the investigation area. Diatom fossils were better preserved in fine sediments. The absolute abundance of diatom fossils did not significantly diff er between inshore and off shore areas, the species diversity decreased from inshore to off shore. This may be because high nutrients and low salinity promoted the growth of more brackish species in coastal waters. The diatom taxa were divided into three groups, on the basis of their response and indication to environmental changes. For example, Actinocyclus ehrenbergii and Cyclotella stylorum were dominant in coastal waters (Group 1 and Group 3) with high nutrients and low salinity;the relative abundances of Paralia sulcata and Podosira stelliger were significantly higher in off shore sites (Group 2, average 39.5%), which were characterized by high salinity and deep water. Four environmental variables (salinity, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, temperature and water depth) explained the composition and distribution of diatom taxa independently ( P< 0.05), this finding can be applied in further paleoenvironmental reconstruction research in this area.