The water and sediment quality of coastal waters near many urban centers in the United States are affected by industrial and agricultural activities. Semi-enclosed marine areas, such as Long Island Sound, are particularly sensitive to the effects of human activity because they are not as well flushed as open coasts. In addition, the Housatonic, Connecticut, Thames, and other rivers drain extensive inland areas into the sound. Map showing the distribution of Clostridium perfringens in Long Island Sound. The number of samples in each range is given in parentheses.
Values indicate the relative influence of sewage input to a marine system.
The blue squares and black lines indicate core locations and transect lines chosen for their proximity to major urban centers and river inputs. The need for managers to understand the growing environmental degradation in Long Island Sound prompted the U.S. Geological Survey to undertake a multidisciplinary study of the environmental conditions and the geologic processes that influence these conditions in the sound. This program has three broad objectives outlined below. One component of this ongoing study is an assessment of selected contaminants in Long Island Sound sediments. This information will determine background values for contaminants, identify sources, determine transport and dispersal paths, identify areas of extensive contaminant accumulation, and provide a basis for model predictions of burial and remobilization rates.