Influence of Shoreline Stabilization Structures on the Nearshore Sedimentary Environment in Mesohaline Chesapeake Bay

Shorelines around many estuaries and coastal embayments are rapidly eroding (approximately several meters/year), with more rapid erosion rates expected in the future due to natural and anthropogenic stressors. In response, a variety of techniques have been used to stabilize shorelines, but there are limited quantitative, long-term data available about their effects on the sedimentary environment immediately adjacent to them (i.e., the nearshore). This study evaluated changes in sediment characteristics (mud and organic content) and accumulation rates associated with installation of breakwaters, riprap, and living shorelines with (“hybrid”) and without (“soft”) a structural component. ²¹⁰Pb (half-life 22.3 years) geochronologies were used to identify horizons in core profiles that corresponded to years when structures were built. Sites with naturally eroding shorelines (i.e., no structures) were used as a control group at which any sedimentary changes represent broad environmental trends, in contrast to changes at the protected sites that also include the influence of structures. Observations were placed within the context of modeled wave climate, shoreline-erosion rates, land use, dominant sediment source, and the apparent effect on submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) inhabiting the nearshore sedimentary environment. The main conclusion of this study is that there was no “one size fits all” answer to anticipated impacts of structures on nearshore sedimentary environments. Instead, specific changes associated with structures depended on individual site characteristics, but could be predicted with multiple linear regression models that included structure type, shoreline-erosion rate, dominant sediment source, and land use. Riprap or breakwater installation had either positive or no obvious impact on SAV at six of seven sites but negatively impacted SAV at one riprapped site. No obvious impacts on SAV were observed at living shoreline sites.     

海南四更沙海域沉积物分布及其受控机制

基于海南西部四更沙及其邻近海域185个底质的粒度数据,并结合研究区动力状况和水深地形特征,研究表层沉积物的组分和类型分布、粒度参数及其沉积环境分区。结果表明:①研究区沉积物类型多样,包括12种沉积类型,以砂质粉砂、粉砂、粉砂质砂和含砾砂为主,沉积物平均粒径变化范围较大(-0.70~7.13 φ),且大体呈现由北向南逐渐变细的分布趋势;②运用Fleming的三角图式,结合物源状况及地形地貌条件,对沉积环境进行划分,将研究区划分为四更沙岸外海滨沉积区、北黎湾中部沉积区和八所港近岸沉积区等3个沉积区;③研究区沉积物分布特征受沉积物来源和水动力及地形条件共同影响。横向分布上,西部主要受强潮流输沙影响,东部近岸则主要受波浪掀沙和搬运作用影响,表现为两侧粗,中间相对较细的特征。纵向上,四更沙岸外海滨沉积区,沉积物主要受昌化江影响,粒径粗,表现为河口沉积特征;北黎湾中部沉积区,沉积物粒径分布范围广,表现为较强的过渡区特性;八所港近岸沉积区,沉积物粒径最细,泥沙来源主要为外海带来的泥沙。     

盆地内大面积砂体分布的一种成因机理--干旱气候下季节性河流沉积

我国西部新疆地区侏罗系-下白垩统大面积、厚层状砂岩油气勘探获得了重大发现, 大面积厚层状砂体及泥岩红层沉积的成因机理受到长期关注。结合现今准噶尔南缘多条季节性河流的沉积体系、砂体展布特征分析, 并对比郝家沟-头屯河剖面、玛纳斯河剖面上侏罗统齐古组、喀拉扎组的岩相组合、岩石颜色、砂泥岩沉积构造、沉积序列与古环境分析, 认为干旱气候下头屯河组上部-喀拉扎组的季节性曲流河-季节性辫状河沉积是上侏罗统大面积厚层状砂砾岩体及厚层状泥岩红层沉积的重要成因机理, 进而建立了季节性河流的砂体构型和成因模式。准噶尔盆地南缘季节性河流沉积砂体构型和成因模式的建立, 对进一步认识我国古代季节性河流沉积提供了有益参考。     

黄河三角洲滨海区沉积物的分异特征与规律

根据2000年79月黄河三角洲滨海区表层沉积物的分析结果,运用F lem ing的三角图式对沉积环境进行划分,并在此基础上结合沉积物结构、地形和水动力条件,探讨了沉积物的分布规律及其作用机制。结果表明:研究区域可划分为废弃三角洲滨海区、现行河口区和莱州湾滨海区三个沉积环境。对于废弃三角洲沉积区,在早期废弃的湾湾沟海区风浪作用为主,沉积物普遍较粗,抗冲能力较强;废弃不久的飞雁滩海区在波流联合作用下,沉积物粒径由岸向海变细,大致在-5-6m水深处存在一明显的界限,该水深以浅砂含量较高;而该水深以深以粉砂和粘土为主,砂含量较低。现行河口区,由于沙嘴前方强潮流带的作用,沉积物粒径由岸向海表现为粗—细—粗的演变趋势。在莱州湾海区,由于潮流场的影响,以广利河河口为界,以北粒径较细,而以南则较粗。      

Seasonal-Scale and Decadal-Scale Sediment-Vegetation Interactions on the Subaqueous Susquehanna River Delta,Upper Chesapeake Bay

Submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) have been a prominent feature on the Susquehanna Flats, the shallow, subaqueous delta of the Susquehanna River, Maryland. SAV were absent from the Flats between 1972 and 2000, but have since recovered. While it is well established that SAV can improve water quality by promoting sediment and nutrient retention, it is not well understood how SAV on the Flats modulate sediment input from the Susquehanna River into the Upper Chesapeake Bay over different timescales. This study evaluates sedimentation on the Flats over seasonal to decadal timescales, using naturally occurring radioisotopes (⁷Be, ²¹⁰Pb) within the context of SAV biomass and Flats geomorphology. Results indicate that sedimentation on the Flats is both spatially and temporally variable. Although this variability cannot be explained by relationships with grain size and SAV biomass, river discharge, sediment supply, and geometry over the SAV bed likely control sedimentation in this system. Decadal-scale sedimentation is influenced by both flood events and changes in SAV biomass abundance. Average annual sediment accumulation was higher when SAV were present than when SAV were absent. SAV bed area was strongly correlated with average annual accumulation rate. These results suggest that a positive feedback between SAV abundance and accumulation rate exists; however, sediment supply and transport pathways are also important factors.     

The influence of humic substances on the geochemistry of iodine in nearshore and hemipelagic marine sediments

Iodine is characteristically enriched at the surface of hemipelagic and nearshore sediments deposited under oxygenated conditions. In such sediments, bulk I/C_org ratios usually decrease with depth to values which are characteristic of anoxic sediments, reflecting a preferential release of I during early diagenesis. There is some debate as to whether sedimentary I is associated with the iron oxyhydroxide phase or with the organic fraction, and whether the decrease in I/C_org with depth is due to the dissolution of the iron oxyhydroxides or the decomposition of labile organic matter.It is shown that in a surficial hemipelagic sediment sample and in a nearshore sediment core I is mainly associated with the organic fraction and, moreover, that humic substances are involved in the surficial iodine enrichment. Laboratory experiments on the uptake and release of I by and from sedimentary humic substances also suggest a mechanism whereby humic materials reduce iodate at the sediment/water interface to an electrophilic I species which further reacts with the organic matter to produce iodinated organic molecules. During burial, this excess I could be displaced from the organic matrix by nucleophiles such as sulphide ions or thiosulphate, thus providing a possible explanation for the decrease in I/C_org ratio with depth observed in many nearshore and hemipelagic sediments.     

Distribution of Mid-deeply Buried Sand-bodies and their Hydrocarbon Significance at Basin Margins: Case Study of the Paleogene in the Eastern Liuzan Area of the Nanpu Sag,Bohai Bay Basin,China

The current research aims to unlock the temporal and spatial distribution of sand-bodies and their relationship with hydrocarbon accumulation in the mid-deep layer of basin margins, located in the eastern part of the Liuzan area of the Nanpu Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, China. Through this study, the main target interval of the area was divided into two fourth-order sequences. The lean sand mixed sedimentary belt with great importance in controlling hydrocarbon accumulation was identified through the comprehensive use of 3D seismic data, logging data, lithological data and seismic inversion data. A detailed analysis of sand-body development characteristics and their role in controlling hydrocarbon accumulation was conducted. The results reveal that the study area mainly develops two distinct fan-delta lobes from the NE-trending sediment supply direction. Due to the relatively high influence of the lacustrine transgression event, the scale of the lean sand mixed sedimentary belt within the SQ1-1 (the lacustrine transgressive systems tract) is relatively small, showing a relatively continuous distribution of sand bodies in the plane. Conversely, due to the relatively high impact of the lacustrine regression event, the scale of the lean sand mixed sedimentary belt developed within the SQ1-2 (the highstand systems tract) is relatively large, the two east sets of fan-delta sedimentary systems being clearly separated. The lean sand mixed sedimentary belt formed a good lateral occlusion belt in favor of hydrocarbon accumulation. Through composite analysis of structural interpretation results, sand-body distribution and well test data, it is evident that the lean sand mixed sedimentary belt located in the structural high is not a favorable zone for hydrocarbon accumulation. In contrast, the wing of the high part of the structure is the zone of sand-bearing bodies and is a favorable zone of hydrocarbon accumulation.     

In Situ Effects of Shoreline Type and Watershed Land Use on Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Habitat Quality in the Chesapeake and Mid-Atlantic Coastal Bays

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is an ecologically and economically valuable component of coastal estuaries that acts as an early indicator of both degrading and improving water quality. This study aimed to determine if shoreline hardening, which is associated with increased population pressure and climate change, acts to degrade SAV habitat quality at the local scale. In situ comparisons of SAV beds adjacent to both natural and hardened shorelines in 24 subestuaries throughout the Chesapeake and Mid-Atlantic Coastal Bays indicated that shoreline hardening does impact adjacent SAV beds. Species diversity, evenness, and percent cover were significantly reduced in the presence of riprap revetment. A post hoc analysis also confirmed that SAV is locally affected by watershed land use associated with increased population pressure, though to a lesser degree than impacts observed from shoreline armoring. When observed over time, SAV recovery at the local level took approximately 3 to 4 years following storm impacts, and SAV adjacent to natural shorelines showed more resilience to storms than SAV adjacent to armored shorelines. The negative impacts of shoreline hardening and watershed development on SAV shown here will inform coastal zone management decisions as increasing coastal populations and sea level rise drive these practices.     

香港海域全新世地层及风暴潮的建造作用

香港全新世地层中发现有6种沉积构造类型,包括:1)隐构造淤泥层(SM型)、2)砂质粒序层(GS型)、3)层理状沉积层(L型)、4)贝屑粒序层(GSh型)、5)无序贝屑层(USh型)和6)均一粉砂层(SS型)。其中,后5种类型与风暴潮有关。沉积物的粒度分布有7种类型。其中,双峰型粒度分布与风暴潮对海底沉积物的悬浮和再分配密切相关。贝壳的破碎度可指示沉积物受改造的程度。沉积构造受改造的程度主要取决于沉积速率和生物扰动。     

Storm sedimentation

Storm-driven currents can carry sand from the shoreline tens of kilometres out onto the continental shelves where it is moulded by storm waves into a storm-sand bed showing distinctive sedimentary structures, including hummocky crossstratification. An understanding of the nature of the depositional currents and the processes that form hummocky cross-stratification comes from the work of oceanographers, observations by geologists and experimental studies in the laboratory, although the conclusions reached are sometimes conflicting. Storm-sandstone beds provide valuable information about sediment dispersal and depositional systems in nearshore and shelf environments. Hummocky crossstratification indicates the activity of storm waves and hence the approximate depth of ancient shelf seas.     

季节性河道与暂时性河道的沉积特征——以新疆白杨河冲积扇为例

通过对新疆现代白杨河冲积扇的地貌和现代沉积进行调查,发现冲积扇表面发育两种不同类型的河道,一种为季节性河道,另一种为暂时性河道。暂时性河道内水流占有率小于50%直至接近于0,主要由暴雨形成突发性洪水造成,季节性河流河道内流水占据率为50%左右,输出水流特征介于暂时性河道和常年性河流河道之间。白杨河主河道属于季节性河道,河道占冲积扇表面面积2.1%,沉积物以砾石质为主,颗粒粗、磨圆度高、分选较好,泥质含量低、叠瓦状排列特征明显,沉积物具有向下游变细的趋势,河道形态沿程变化明显。暂时性河道占冲积扇表面面积97.9%,沉积物粒度相对较细,磨圆度低、分选差、泥质含量高,河道规模向下游减小,分叉增多。季节性河道以河道径流为主,暂时性河道主要以片流、泥石流等方式搬运沉积物。季节性河道沉积物主要来自上游较远的源区,暂时性河道的沉积物来源于冲积扇扇根附近基岩风化形成的倒石锥,塌积扇和山地泥石流沉积,一部分来自于对冲积扇原有沉积物的改造、搬运和再沉积。季节性河道是形成冲积扇扇体的主要动力,暂时性河道主要对冲积扇起改造作用。研究深化了对干旱地区冲积扇沉积过程和沉积特征的认识,丰富了冲积扇的沉积模式。     

The effect of groundwater seepage on nutrient delivery and seagrass distribution in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico

A hypothesis was tested to determine if a relationship exists between rates of submarine groundwater discharge and the distribution of seagrass beds in the coastal, nearshore northeastern Gulf of Mexico. As determined by nonparametric statistics, four of seven seagrass beds in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico had significantly greater submarine groundwater discharge compared with adjacent sandy areas, but the remainder exhibited the opposite relationship. We were thus unable to verify if a relationship exists between submarine groundwater discharge and the distribution of seagrass beds in the nearshore sites selected. A second objective of this study was to determine the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus delivered to nearshore areas by submarine groundwater discharge. We considered new nutrient inputs to be delivered to surface waters by the upward flux of fresh water. This upward flux of water encounters saline porewaters in the surficial sediments and these porewaters contain recycled nutrients; actual nutrient flux from the sediment to overlying waters includes both new and recycled nutrients. New inputs of nitrogen to overlying surface waters for one 10-km section of coastline, calculated by multiplying groundwater nutrient concentrations from freshwater wells by measured seepage rates, were on the order of 1,100±190 mol N d⁻¹. New and recycled nitrogen fluxes, calculated by multiplying surficial porewater concentrations by measured seepage rates, yielded fluxes of 3,600 ±1,000 mol N d⁻¹. Soluble reactive phosphate values were 150±40 mol P d⁻¹ using freshwater well concentrations and 130±3.0 mol P d⁻¹ using porewater concentrations. These values are comparable to the average nutrient delivery of a small, local river.     

Epitaxial salt reefs and mushrooms in the southern Dead Sea

Salt usually accumulates in shallow ephemeral brines as simple flat beds. However, in permanent brines deepening in solar evaporation ponds in the southern Dead Sea, salt accumulation is complicated by the growth of isolated vegetable-like salt structures and networks of polygonal salt walls. These walls divide large salt ponds, which are easily homogenized by wind, into thousands of small compartments that are less easy to mix. Instead, brines in the compartments stratify when a surficial layer about 10 cm thick supersaturates and floats above the cumulate floors on brines that are merely saturated. Salt reef growth in the southern Dead Sea has previously been attributed to mixing of ions common to brines already in the ponds and those pumped in from the northern basin (with or without subsurface brines rising through the pond floors). A new factor is emphasized here that, whatever the origins of the brines, salt reefs remain emergent by epitaxis, the in situ growth of crystalline substrates already in the surficial supersaturated layer. Epitaxis can be invisible in crystal clear brines and prolongs the obvious crystallization season by replacing sedimentation of grains nucleated and grown on the brine surface as the dominant mechanism of deposition. Salt reefs develop botryoidal overhangs that can merge into salt platforms that roof over deep brines. Salt shallows on the reef platforms and around the pond shores are both characterized by the deposition of the thin flat beds with vertical palisade textures well known from other ephemeral brines. Salt reefs are interpreted as tepee structures which have grown by epitaxis as fast as saturated brines have deepened around them. Epitaxis may also account for the rapid deposition of thick beds of pure salt in rifts that open to oceans. Local histories of salt reef compartmentalization can be read from the shapes of reefs that record their relative rates of growth and drowning. Rather than diminish evaporation area, damp emergent salt reefs act as giant transpirative pumps that accelerate salt crystallization and reconfigure the evaporation ponds into areas smaller than thought necessary by chemical engineers. The natural end of reef formation may be when shallow brines on hollow reef platforms become ephemeral on solid salt flats. Former salt reefs are likely to be distinguishable in the undeformed geological record by their botryoidal layers of nonvertical chevron crystals.     

The Effect of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Expansion on a Declining Turbidity Trend in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) has well-documented effects on water clarity. SAV beds can slow water movement and reduce bed shear stress, promoting sedimentation and reducing suspension. However, estuaries have multiple controls on turbidity that make it difficult to determine the effect of SAV on water clarity. In this study, we investigated the effect of primarily invasive SAV expansion on a concomitant decline in turbidity in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The objective of this study was to separate the effects of decreasing sediment supply from the watershed from increasing SAV cover to determine the effect of SAV on the declining turbidity trend. SAV cover was determined by airborne hyperspectral remote sensing and turbidity data from long-term monitoring records. The turbidity trends were corrected for the declining sediment supply using suspended-sediment concentration data from a station immediately upstream of the Delta. We found a significant negative trend in turbidity from 1975 to 2008, and when we removed the sediment supply signal from the trend it was still significant and negative, indicating that a factor other than sediment supply was responsible for part of the turbidity decline. Turbidity monitoring stations with high rates of SAV expansion had steeper and more significant turbidity trends than those with low SAV cover. Our findings suggest that SAV is an important (but not sole) factor in the turbidity decline, and we estimate that 21–70 % of the total declining turbidity trend is due to SAV expansion.     

Subglacial Lake McGregor, south-central Alberta, Canada

It is proposed that a lake, here named “Subglacial Lake McGregor”, existed beneath the Laurentide Ice Sheet at, or near, the last glacial maximum. The lake resided in the ancient buried McGregor and Tee Pee preglacial valleys, which are now mostly filled with glacigenic deposits. The greatest thickness of sediment in the valleys is in the form of chaotically deposited lake beds that were laid down in a subaqueous environment by a number of process: gravity flow, water transport, and suspension settling. Topographic, sedimentary, and stratigraphic evidence point to a subglacial, not a proglacial, origin for the beds. During the early stages of lake existence, ice movement was significant as there are numerous sets of shear planes in the sedimentary beds. This indicates that the lake filled (lake sedimentation) and drained (shearing of the beds by overlying ice when ice contacted the bed) often. Thus, early in its history, the lake(s) was/were ephemeral. During the later stages of lake existence, the lake was relatively stable with no rapid draining or influx of sediment. Gradual drainage of the lake resulted in lowering of the ice onto the lake beds resulting in subglacial till deposition. Drainage was not a single continuous event. Rather it was characterized by multiple phases of near total drainage (till deposition), followed by water accumulation (lake sedimentation). Water accumulation events became successively less significant reflected by thinning of lake beds and thickening of till beds higher in the stratigraphic sequence. Since subglacial lake sedimentation appears to be restricted to the subglacial valleys, it is suggested that the valleys acted as a large-scale interconnected cavity system that both stored and transported water. It is also suggested that these acted as the main routes of water flow beneath the Laurentide Ice Sheet.     

Lower Pleistocene deltaic and marine sediments in boreholes from the central North Sea

Lower Pleistocene sediments recovered in boreholes from the Aberdeen Ground Formation in the central North Sea indicate that the unit was deposited in a delta front to prodelta/shallow, open shelf marine setting. Possible estuarine and clastic nearshore marine deposits have been identified on the western margin of the basin. The delta front sediments consist of interbedded, structureless to laminated sands and muds with organic debris, ferruginous nodules and common soft sediment deformation structures. Sporadic rippled and graded beds, basal scours to beds and starved ripples suggest periodic wave–current reworking. Prodelta/shelf marine sediments are predominantly argillaceous with only occasional thin sand beds and rare phosphatic bands. One exceptionally thick sand body or submarine channel-fill although this remains uncertain. The estuarine/clastic nearshore marine sediments include coarse channel-lag deposits and rippled and laminated subtidal sands. A rich microfossil assemblage recovered from the prodelta/shelf marine sequence indicates that deposition occurred under fluctuating climatic conditions.     

冲绳海槽西南端1.3ka以来异重流沉积记录及其古气候响应

以冲绳海槽西南端的HOBAB4?S1岩芯为研究对象,综合利用粒度、沉积构造、AMS14C测年等资料,对研究区异重流沉积特征进行研究,对异重流发育的时间段与晚全新世气候事件进行对应。结果表明,岩芯中发育17段异重流沉积,其沉积物组分以砂质粉砂为主,粒度频率分布曲线多呈以70~130 μm为中心的单峰,C?M图上样品点集中分布区间大致平行于C=M基线,且位于PQ段以下,表明沉积物搬运方式为重力流悬浮搬运。异重流内部发育平行层理、爬升沙纹层理和粒序层理等沉积构造。异重流沉积类型主要有两类,一类是厚层异重流沉积,底部侵蚀面发育,内部发育多组逆—正粒序组合,指示了水动力较强,侵蚀作用和沉积作用均较明显的异重流近端沉积;另一类是薄层异重流沉积,底部侵蚀面不发育,内部不发育或仅发育一组逆—正粒序组合,指示了水动力较弱的异重流边部沉积。HOBAB4?S1岩芯的异重流层段集中发育在800~1 300 A.D.之间,指示了当时气候条件为高温高湿,台风、洪水频发,降雨量较大,验证了“中世纪暖期”在东亚地区的存在。     

Patterns of sediment accumulation in the tidal marshes of Maine

One year’s measurements of surficial sedimentation rates (1986–1987) for 26 Maine marsh sites were made over marker horizons of brick dust. Observed sediment accumulation rates, from 0 to 13 mm yr^?1, were compared with marsh morphology, local relative sea-level rise rate, mean tidal range, and ice rafting activity. Marshes with four different morphologies (back-barrier, fluvial, bluff-toe, and transitional) showed distinctly different sediment accumulation rates. In general, back-barrier marshes had the highest accumulation rates and blufftoe marshes had the lowest rates, with intermediate values for transitional and fluvial marshes. No causal relationship between modern marsh sediment accumulation rate and relative sea-level rise rate (from tide gauge records) was observed. Marsh accretionary balance (sediment accumulation rate minus relative sea-level rise rate) did not correlate with mean tidal range for this meso- to macro-tidal area. Estimates of ice-rafted debris on marsh sites ranged from 0% to >100% of measured surficial sedimentation rates, indicating that ice transport of sediment may make a significant contribution to surficial sedimentation on Maine salt marshes.     

厚层湖泊滩坝砂体成因机制探讨及地质意义—以板桥凹陷沙二段为例

滩坝储层是近年来油气勘探、开发的重点目标之一。板桥凹陷沙二段发育典型的厚层湖泊滩坝砂体,单砂体平均厚10余米,垂向上通常累积成厚数十米、内部夹层发育的复合滩坝砂体。根据研究区滩坝砂体的沉积特征、平面形态和发育位置,将滩坝砂体细分为坝中心、坝侧翼、坝间、近岸滩、远岸滩5种微相类型。在古构造、沉积环境等综合研究的基础上,指出该区厚层滩坝砂体是物源、水动力和同生断层在时间和空间上有机结合、共同控制的结果。来自南部的辫状河三角洲砂体作为主力物源为板桥凹陷滩坝沉积提供了物质基础。凹陷缓坡带具有大面积的水动力作用区,控制着滩坝的规模和分布,波浪能量的变化影响着滩坝砂体的相分异。同生断层是板桥凹陷发育厚层滩坝砂体的主导因素。一方面,同生断层控制物源的分配,在断层下降盘具有充足的砂体供应,同时,断面的陡坎部位形成持续的水动力高能环境,并长期接受波浪作用,逐渐形成厚度较大的滩坝砂体;另一方面,同生断层的活动性增加了下降盘基准面上升的概率,为滩坝沉积提供了时间条件,滩坝砂体不再因短期基准面的频繁变化而层层错叠,而是在纵向上连续厚层堆积。断层下降盘是厚层滩坝砂体的有利发育部位,并极易形成构造-岩性圈闭,有利于油气聚集、成藏。     

Analysis of the abundance of submersed aquatic vegetation communities in the Chesapeake Bay

A procedure was developed using aboveground field biomass measurements of Chesapeake Bay submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV), yearly species identification surveys, annual photographic mapping at 1∶24,000 scale, and geographic information system (GIS) analyses to determine the SAV community type, biomass, and area of each mapped SAV bed in the bay and its tidal tributaries for the period of 1985 through 1996. Using species identifications provided through over 10,000 SAV ground survey observations, the 17 most abundant SAV species found in the bay were clustered into four species associations: ZOSTERA, RUPPIA, POTAMOGETON, and FRESHWATER MIXED. Monthly aboveground biomass values were then assigned to each bed or bed section based upon monthly biomass models developed for each community. High salinity communities (ZOSTERA) were found to dominate total bay SAV aboveground biomass during winter, spring, and summer. Lower salinity communities (RUPPIA, POTAMOGETON, and FRESHWATER MIXED) dominated in the fall. In 1996, total bay SAV standing stock was nearly 22,800 metric tons at annual maximum biomass in July encompassing an area of approximately 25,670 hectares. Minimum biomass in December and January of that year was less than 5,000 metric tons. SAV annual maximum biomass increased baywide from lows of less than 15,000 metric tons in 1985 and 1986 to nearly 25,000 metric tons during the 1991 to 1993 period, while area increased from approximately 20,000 to nearly 30,000 hectares during that same period. Year-to-year comparisons of maximum annual community abundance from 1985 to 1996 indicated that regrowth of SAV in the Chesapeake Bay from 1985–1993 occurred principally in the ZOSTERA community, with 85% of the baywide increase in biomass and 71% of the increase in are a occurring in that community. Maximum biomass of FRESHWATER MIXED SAV beds also increased from a low of 3,200 metric tons in 1985 to a high of 6,650 metric tons in 1993, while maximum biomass of both RUPPIA and POTAMOGETON beds fluctuated between 2,450 and 4,600 metric tons and 60 and 600 metric tons, respectively, during that same period with net declines of 7% and 43%, respectively, between 1985 and 1996. During the July period of annual, baywide, maximum SAV biomass, SAV beds in the Chesapeake Bay typically averaged approximately 0.86 metric tons of aboveground dry mass per hectare of bed area.