Document Type

Article

Department/Program

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Publication Date

1986

Journal

Rapports et procès-verbaux des réunions. Conseil permanent international pour l'exploration de la mer

Volume

186

First Page

343

Last Page

351

Abstract

Estuaries exhibit a full range of flux that extends from escape of sediment into the ocean to complete entrapment and storage within the system. The trapping efficiency of U.S. East Coast estuaries is compared with respect to long-term infilling and present- day flushing velocity , volumetric capacity , and circulatory mixing. It was found that entrapment prevails in many northern estuaries as a consequence of high volumetric capacity , low flushing velocity , and the nearly closed circulation. In many estuaries, channel deepening has reversed the " normal" trend of long-term infilling. Although dredging enhances circulatory entrapment, large-scale ocean dumping results in "escape" of sediment from estuaries. Consequently, man is changing the geologic role of many U.S. East Coast estuaries from a sink for fluvial and marine sediment to a source of sediment for the ocean.

Publication Statement

Contribution (Virginia Institute of Marine Science) no. 1324.

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