Projected Consequences of Dumping Sewage Sludge at a Deep Ocean Site near New York Bight

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (S2) ◽  
pp. s228-s241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P. O'Connor ◽  
Akira Okubo ◽  
Michael A. Champ ◽  
P. Kilho Park
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Biological Response ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Surface Mixed Layer ◽  
Horizontal Dispersion

Projections are made of the distribution of and biological response to New York/New Jersey sewage sludges if they are slowly discharged from barges at a deepwater location in annual volumes of 7 × 106 m3. We have used available information on sludge composition, dispersion of barge-dumped wastes, flow through the dumpsite, sewage sludge settling under quiescent conditions, rates of horizontal dispersion in the deep sea, chemical composition of open ocean water, ambient mass fluxes to the seafloor, sediment characteristics, bioturbation rates, and biological responses to sludge and its components. Within a 20-m surface mixed layer between the dumpsite and the Gulf Stream a chemical signal of dumping may be evident in iron, lead, zinc, chromium, and PCB concentrations. Water column contamination would appear to be less than necessary to affect planktonic organisms or fish. Seafloor contamination would be due primarily to sludge particles falling at 10−2 cm∙s−1 or faster. Allowing for bioturbation, the major sediment contaminants, PCB s and PAHs, could reach concentrations at the sediment surface of 0.2 and 0.3 μg∙g−1, respectively, after 100 yr. Concentrations of that order in shallow ocean benthic systems are not obviously related to altered benthic life. The strength of these projections would be increased with better understanding in many areas, especially on the effect of natural and barge-induced turbulence on particle flocculation and on rates of horizontal dispersion in the deep ocean. If sludge is dumped, the water column should be studied for chemical evidence of sludge and response of open ocean plankton. Arrays of sediment traps could be deployed to quantify the rate and areal extent of the settling sludge flux.

scholarly journals Amino acid composition and <i>δ</i><sup>15</sup>N of suspended matter in the Arabian Sea: implications for organic matter sources and degradation

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 7689-7702 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Gaye ◽  
B. Nagel ◽  
K. Dähnke ◽  
T. Rixen ◽  
N. Lahajnar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Residence Time ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Suspended Matter ◽  
Arabian Sea ◽  
Monsoon Season ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Surface Mixed Layer

Abstract. Sedimentation in the ocean is fed by large aggregates produced in the surface mixed layer that sink rapidly through the water column. These particles sampled by sediment traps have often been proposed to interact by disaggregation and scavenging with a pool of fine suspended matter with very slow sinking velocities and thus a long residence time. We investigated the amino acid (AA) composition and stable nitrogen isotopic ratios of suspended matter (SPM) sampled during the late SW monsoon season in the Arabian Sea and compared them to those of sinking particles to understand organic matter degradation/modification during passage through the water column. We found that AA composition of mixed layer suspended matter corresponds more to fresh plankton and their aggregates, whereas AA composition of SPM in the sub-thermocline water column deviated progressively from mixed layer composition. We conclude that suspended matter in deep waters and in the mixed layers of oligotrophic stations is dominated by fine material that has a long residence time and organic matter that is resistant to degradation. SPM in areas of high primary productivity is essentially derived from fresh plankton and thus has a strong imprint of the subsurface nitrate source, whereas SPM at oligotrophic stations and at subthermocline depths appears to exchange amino acids and nitrogen isotopes with the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool influencing also the δ15N values.

Impacts of meso and submesoscale dynamics on the horizontal dispersion of sinking particles from the surface to the deep ocean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Wang ◽  
Jonathan Gula ◽  
Jeremy Collin ◽  
Laurent Memery
Keyword(s):  
General Structure ◽  
Finite Size ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Horizontal Distribution ◽  
Particle Dispersion ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Transport Pathways ◽  
Horizontal Dispersion ◽  
Sinking Particles

&lt;p&gt;Energetic eddy fields generated by meso and submesoscale dynamics induce tridimensional particle transport pathways, which complicate the interpretation of observed Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) fluxes using sediment traps. It is therefore of importance to understand how horizontal dispersion of particles is structured by these dynamics from surface to depth. In this modelling study, we use a Lagrangian method to backtrack sinking particles collected at various depths ranging from 500 m to 4700 m at the PAP (Porcupine Abyssal Plain) site. Particle trajectories are computed using high-resolution simulations of the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS). Our results show that the horizontal distribution of particles with sinking velocities below 100 m d&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; presents a large small-scale heterogeneity. Mesoscale eddies act to define the general structure of particle patches while submesoscale features shape particle distributions through convergence/divergence processes. Distribution patterns of particles tracked from different depths suggest regime shifts of particle dispersion between subsurface layers. To identify and quantify these regimes, we perform 2d experiments at specific depths from 100 m to 4000 m and relate the Lagrangian statistics to the characteristics of the different dynamical regimes identified using vertical profiles of eddy energy and Finite Size Lyapunov Exponents (FSLE) approach. &amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Anoxic depositional overprinting of 238U/235U in calcite: When do carbonates tell black shale tales?

Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinming Chen ◽  
Stephen J. Romaniello ◽  
Michael McCormick ◽  
Alyssa Sherry ◽  
Jeff R. Havig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Uranium Isotopes ◽  
Carbonate Sediments ◽  
Anoxic Water ◽  
Green Lake ◽  
Bottom Waters

The fidelity of uranium isotopes (δ238U) in marine carbonates as a paleoredox proxy relies on whether carbonates can record and preserve seawater δ238U. Although modern carbonate sediments deposited under oxic conditions have been shown to track seawater δ238U, it remains unknown whether this is true for carbonates deposited under anoxic conditions. This is a crucial question because many ancient carbonates were likely deposited or reworked under anoxic bottom waters. To better understand the behavior of uranium isotopes under this scenario, we investigated U isotope geochemistry in the meromictic Fayetteville Green Lake (FGL; New York, USA), where primary calcite is precipitated from oxic surface waters, sinks past the chemocline, and is deposited under anoxic bottom waters. We observed significant depletions of dissolved U concentration (from 2.7 to 0.9 ppb) and δ238U (from –0.55‰ to –0.96‰) below the chemocline in FGL. Parallel with these depletions, δ238U of sediment traps increased progressively from –0.51‰ to –0.16‰, suggesting that U(VI) reduction was occurring in the anoxic water column. Carbonate sediments deposited under anoxic bottom waters were enriched in U by 6–18× compared to primary calcite. Our data suggest that such significant authigenic U enrichments resulted from U(VI) reduction in the anoxic water column and below the sediment-water interface. The δ238U value in the top 0.25 cm of sediments was –0.29‰ ± 0.10‰, overprinting original δ238U in primary calcite (–0.51‰ ± 0.02‰). Future applications of carbonate δ238U as a paleoredox proxy should consider depositional environments (oxic vs. anoxic) of carbonates.

Coupling of Organic Pollutants Between the Estuary and Continental Shelf and the Sediments and Water Column in the New York Bight Region

1983 ◽  
Vol 40 (S2) ◽  
pp. s262-s276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Boehm
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Hudson River ◽  
Fused Silica ◽  
Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽  
Dredged Material ◽  
Sediment Grain Size ◽  
New York Bight ◽  
York Bight

The composition and distribution of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and coprostanol in suspended particulate matter in the Hudson River–Lower Bay–New York Bight system were investigated. Fused silica capillary gas chromatography and gas chromatographic mass spectrometry were employed for PAH, PCB, and coprostanol determinations. Additionally, dredged material and sewage sludge waste deposits from the bight were size fractionated and analyzed. Between the estuary and shelf and between the benthos and water column, chemical flux mechanisms included Hudson River sediment resuspension and bottom water transport within the estuary, sewage effluent input to harbour–river surface waters followed by seaward transport, landward transport of resuspended bight sediment linked to resuspension of PAH-rich dredged material, and possible transport of sewage-associated organics down the Hudson Valley. The composition of PAH and PCB varied with sediment grain size. Dredged materials were rich in pyrogenic PAH, while PAH in sewage sludge were mainly of a petroleum origin. PAH, PCB, and coprostanol levels were decoupled in the water column particles, probably due to differential solubility behavior of the three compound classes.

Mathematical Model Investigation of Far-Field Transport of Ocean-Dumped Sewage Sludge Related to Remote Sensing

1982 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-39
Author(s):  
C Y Kuo
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Approximate Model ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Far Field ◽  
New York Bight ◽  
Mean Current

An existing, three-dimensional, Eulerian-Lagrangian finite-difference model was modified and used to examine the far-field transport processes of dumped sewage sludge in the New York Bight. Both in situ and laboratory data were utilized in an attempt to approximate model inputs such as mean current speed, vertical and horizontal diffusion coefficients, particle size distributions, and specific gravities. Concentrations of the sludge near the sea surface predicted from the computer model were compared qualitatively with those remotely sensed.

Measurement of organic loading under an open-ocean aquaculture cage, using sediment traps on the bottom

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 661-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Rapp ◽  
W. R. Ramírez ◽  
J. A. Rivera ◽  
M. Carlo ◽  
R. Luciano
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Traps ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Organic Loading ◽  
Open Ocean Aquaculture

The rate of dissolution of calcium carbonate from the surface of deep-ocean turbidite sediments

1990 ◽  
Vol 331 (1616) ◽  
pp. 41-49 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Bottom Water ◽  
Natural Radionuclide ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Concentration ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Carbonate Sediments ◽  
Sedimentary Record ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon

It is known that past periods of high atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration are associated with poor carbonate preservation in the deep-ocean sedimentary record. Bottom water can become more aggressive towards carbonate sediments during such periods. To interpret the sedimentary record more exactly, and to predict future atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, it is necessary to know the rate of solution of carbonate for a given degree of bottom-water undersaturation. In parts of the Atlantic Ocean, turbidite sedimentation mechanisms have emplaced carbonate-rich material in contact with undersaturated bottom water. The time of the emplacement event can be determined from natural radionuclide distributions, and the degree of carbonate dissolution in this time can be measured. This provides a direct measurement of dissolution rate from a natural sediment surface at a known degree of undersaturation. The range of applicability of the method is explored with a mathematical model, and field data from a 5430 m depth Atlantic site are presented.

scholarly journals Occurrence and distribution of ladderane oxidation products in different oceanic regimes

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 2407-2418 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Rush ◽  
E. C. Hopmans ◽  
S. G. Wakeham ◽  
S. Schouten ◽  
J. S. Sinninghe Damsté
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Arabian Sea ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Oxidation Products ◽  
Short Chain ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Ammonium Oxidation ◽  
Anammox Activity ◽  
Sediment Matrix

Abstract. Ladderane fatty acids are commonly used as biomarkers for bacteria involved in anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). These lipids have been experimentally shown to undergo aerobic microbial degradation to form short chain ladderane fatty acids. However, nothing is known of the production or the distribution of these oxic biodegradation products in the natural environment. In this study, we analysed marine water column particulate matter and sediment from three different oceanic regimes for the presence of ladderane oxidation products (C14 ladderane fatty acids) and of original ladderane fatty acids (C18 and C20 ladderane fatty acids). We found that ladderane oxidation products, i.e. C14 ladderane fatty acids, are already produced within the water column of the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) and thus only low amounts of oxygen (< 3 μM) are needed for the β-oxidation of original ladderane fatty acids to proceed. However, no short chain ladderane fatty acids were detected in the Cariaco Basin water column, where oxygen concentrations were below detection limit, suggesting that the β-oxidation pathway is inhibited by the absence of molecular oxygen, or that the microbes performing the degradation are not proliferating under these conditions. Comparison of distributions of ladderane fatty acids indicates that short chain ladderane fatty acids are mostly produced in the water column and at the sediment surface, before being preserved deeper in the sediments. Short chain ladderane fatty acids were abundant in Arabian Sea and Peru Margin sediments (ODP Leg 201), often in higher concentrations than the original ladderane fatty acids. In a sediment core taken from within the Arabian Sea OMZ, short chain ladderanes made up more than 90% of the total ladderanes at depths greater than 5 cm below sea floor. We also found short chain ladderanes in higher concentrations in hydrolysed sediment residues compared to those freely occurring in lipid extracts, suggesting that they had become bound to the sediment matrix. Furthermore, these matrix-bound short chain ladderanes were found at greater sediment depths than short chain ladderanes in the lipid extract, suggesting that binding to the sediment matrix aids the preservation of these lipids. Though sedimentary degradation of short chain ladderane fatty acids did occur, it appeared to be at a slower rate than that of the original ladderane fatty acids, and short chain ladderane fatty acids were found in sediments from the Late Pleistocene (~ 100 kyr). Together these results suggest that the oxic degradation products of ladderane fatty acids may be suitable biomarkers for past anammox activity in OMZs.

scholarly journals Artificially induced migration of redox layers in a coastal sediment from the Northern Adriatic

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2211-2224 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Metzger ◽  
D. Langlet ◽  
E. Viollier ◽  
N. Koron ◽  
B. Riedel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Geochemical Evolution ◽  
Sediment Surface ◽  
Pore Waters ◽  
In Situ Experiment ◽  
Solid Oxides ◽  
Northern Adriatic ◽  
Entire Height ◽  
Benthic Chambers

Abstract. Long-term experimental studies suggest that, under transient anoxic conditions, redox fronts within the sediment shift upwards, causing sequential rise and fall of benthic fluxes of reduced species (Mn(II), Fe(II) and S(-II)). Infaunal benthic organisms are associated with different redox fronts as micro-habitats and must be affected by such changes during natural hypoxia events. In order to document the geochemical evolution of the sediment during prolonged anoxia in the framework of an in situ experiment designed to mimic natural conditions, benthic chambers were deployed on the seafloor of the Northern Adriatic and sampled after 9, 30 and 315 days of incubation. Oxygen and sulfide were measured continuously in the early stages (9 days) of the experiment. High-resolution pore water profiles were sampled by DET probes and redox-sensitive species (S(VI), Mn(II) and Fe(II)) and alkalinity were measured. Starting oxygen saturation was about 80% within the chamber. After 7 days, anoxia was established in the bottom waters within the chambers. Mn(II) and Fe(II) started diffusing towards the anoxic water column until they reached the surficial sediment. Being reoxidized there, Mn and Fe reprecipitated, giving a rusty coloration to the seafloor. Infaunal species appeared at the sediment surface. After 20 days, all macro-organisms were dead. Decomposition of macro-organisms at the sediment–water interface generated S(-II) within the entire height of the chamber, leading to a downward flux of sulfides into the sediment, where they were quickly oxidized by metallic oxides or precipitated as FeS. S(-II) was below detection in the water column and pore waters at the end of the experiment. Our results suggest that S(-II) enrichment in the water column of coastal systems, which are episodically anoxic, is strongly controlled by the biomass of benthic macrofauna and its decay during anoxia, whereas its residence time in the water column is controlled by iron availability (as solid oxides or as dissolved reduced cations) within the sediment, even without water circulation.

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