| Abstract: | The New York Bight is a sector of the Middle Atlantic continental shelf. The Bight consists of a part of the Atlantic Ocean offshore of the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area. This area includes the most populated coastal setting in North America. The Atlantic shelf and its estuaries are used for waste disposal, dredging, commercial fishing, and recreation; activities that contribute to the contamination of associated bottom sediments. Existing data for toxicants are still inadequate. Improvements in sediment and water quality will require a more detailed knowledge and understanding of sediments and water in the Bight. Eleven coring stations were established in New York Bight. Decreases in pH and Eh both above and below the water/sediment interface are attributed to the activity of anaerobic bacteria. Sulfate reduction is one of the important processes in lowering pH. Low Eh values of up to −443 can be related to sulfate-reducing bacteria. The highest negative Eh generally occurs with the highest organic carbon concentration. Core samples yielded up to 4.00% organic carbon compared to 0.8 to 1.2% in sediments of the natural nearshore environment. Twenty-seven different aliphatic hydrocarbons, fourteen PAHs, five cyclic hydrocarbons, and eight dicarboxylic acids were identified in the Bight pore waters. Sediment located deeper in the Hudson Shelf Valley has a greater abundance of aliphatic hydrocarbons as adsorbed pollution on clay and silt. The presence of dicarboxylic acids leached from plastic came from anthropogenic activities (mostly sewage). PAHs have two sources: coal ash (observed in sediments) and petroleum (part of the sewage, run-offs, and oil spills). The rest of the hydrocarbons have a petroleum or biogenic origin. The high amount of organic carbon may be the result of sewage sludge or originated from natural sources. The main sources of contaminants are dumpsites, emergency releases after heavy rainstorms from sewage-treatment plants, tanker washing, storage transfer spills, run-off, and air-borne pollution. The relatively high accumulation of organic matter causes oxygen depletion, which creates anaerobic conditions. The presence of hydrogen sulfide makes the environment toxic for most of the biota. Detected hydrocarbons, especially PAHs easily enter the food chain and may cause cancer and mutagenic reactions of biota and humans. Organic petrology of six organic-rich sediments from New York Harbor illustrates a diverse population of anthropogenic and natural organic components. Three core samples (V-2, AC-4, and HV-3) contain coarse-textured organic matter. A slim majority of those components are anthropogenic. They are derived mainly from coal combustion by-products. The other two core samples (AC-6 and T-1) contain mainly very fine-grained organic matter. A majority of them are amorphous organic matter (AOM) that is derived from bacterial degradation of modern organic matter. Radionuclide dating (137Cs, K-40, Pb-210) shows post-1950 components for the shallowest intervals in the cores (<30 cm). The post-1950 sediment, distributed in the tops of core, is recycled material from the dumpsites. The underlying sediment has isotopic signatures that suggest dates before active dumping. |
