Publications

The gravel sediment habitat on the northern edge of Georges Bank (East coast of North America) is an important nursery area for juvenile fish, and the site of a productive scallop fishery. During two cruises to this area in 1994 we made photographic transects at sites of varying depths that experience varying degrees of disturbance from otter trawling and scallop dredging. Differences between site

A number of assumed empirical relationships (e.g., the Bruun Rule, the equilibrium shoreface profile, longshore transport rate equation, beach length: durability relationship, and the renourishment factor) and deterministic numerical models (e.g., GENESIS, SBEACH) have become important tools for investigating coastal processes and for coastal engineering design in the U.S. They are also used as th

A one-dimensional (vertical) numerical model of currents, mixing, frazil ice concentration, and suspended sediment concentration has been developed and applied in the shallow southeastern Kara Sea. The objective of the calculations is to determine whether conditions suitable for turbid ice formation can occur during times of rapid cooling and wind- and wave-induced sediment resuspension. Although

Boston is scheduled to cease discharge of sewage effluent in Boston Harbor in Spring 2000 and begin discharge at a site 14 km offshore in Massachusetts Bay in a water depth of about 30 m. The effects of this outfall relocation on effluent dilution, salinity and circulation are predicted with a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The simulations predict that the new bay outfall will greatly decre

Simultaneous measurements of compressional and shear wave speeds through polycrystalline methane hydrate have been made. Methane hydrate, grown directly in a wave speed measurement chamber, was uniaxially compacted to a final porosity below 2%. At 277 K, the compacted material had a compressional wave speed of 3650 ?? 50 m/s. The shear wave speed, measured simultaneously, was 1890 ?? 30 m/s. From

We use new seismic and gravity data collected during the 1994 Los Angeles Region Seismic Experiment (LARSE) to discuss the origin of the California Inner Continental Borderland (ICB) as an extended terrain possibly in a metamorphic core complex mode. The data provide detailed crustal structure of the Borderland and its transition to mainland southern California. Using tomographic inversion as well

The Blake Ridge Diapir is the southernmost of a line of salt diapirs along the Carolina trough. Diapirs cause faulting of the superjacent sediments, creating pathways for migration of fluids and gas to the seafloor. We analyzed reflection seismic data from the Blake Ridge Diapir, which is located in a region with known abundant gas hydrate occurrence. A striking feature in these data is a signific

Sediment transport in the Hudson Shelf Valley and on the adjacent Long Island Shelf are evaluated using available data along with a three-dimensional wind-driven circulation model and a one-dimensional sediment transport model. Winds from the northwest drive currents up the Hudson Shelf Valley, while winds from the east produce weaker currents directed down the valley. Consistent with previous stu

Anthropogenic activity has increased recent sediment concentrations of Pt and Pd in Boston Harbor by approximately 5 times background concentrations. Surface sediments and downcore profiles were investigated to evaluate Pt and Pd accumulation and behavior in urban coastal sediments. There is no clear correlation between temporal changes in Pt and Pd consumption and sediment concentration. However,

High-resolution seismic-reflection profiles (3.5 kHz) show that a distinctive, widespread reflection occurs in the sediments beneath Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Coring reveals that this reflection is formed by Mazama tephra (MT), about 7 ka in age. The MT horizon is faulted in many places and locally displaced by as much as 3.1 m. Differential displacement of multiple horizons indicates recurrent

The distribution of contaminants in surface sediments has been measured and mapped as part of a U.S. Geological Survey study of the sediment quality and dynamics of Long Island Sound. Surface samples from 219 stations were analyzed for trace (Ag, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, V, Zn and Zr) and major (Al, Fe, Mn, Ca, and Ti) elements, grain size, and Clostridium perfringens spores. Principal Componen

Recent, unmixed sediments from mud banks of central Florida Bay were dated using 210Pb/226Ra, and chronologies were verified by comparing sediment lead temporal records with Pb/Ca ratios in annual layers of coral (Montastrea annularis) located on the ocean side of the Florida Keys. Dates of sediment lead peaks (1978±2) accord with prior observations of a 6 year lag between the occurrence of maximu