Sediment Happens!

Its cleaning it up thats difficult

ESI

What if we piled up the estimated 5 million tons of sediment/year carried into the Bay and its tidal tributaries ?

Bay Journal

July/August 2002

Colonial ports
Joppatown at the mouth of the Gunpowder River (today 2 miles inland from mouth!) Bladensburg on the Anacostia River Port Tobacco on the Potomac River Charles Town at Jug Bay on the Patuxent River What was the purpose of the ports?

Siltation
Massive sedimentation in river channels What is the source of all the sediment? New channel is cut as marsh develops in shallow waters

Present channel

Ancient channel

How does sediment pile up?

particles settle from water column
Where is the oldest sediment? Youngest Oldest

Does particle size make a difference?

(0.063 2 mm) (0.0039 - 0.063 mm)

sand

silt

(<0.0039 mm)

clay

The larger the particle, the faster it settles. Which particle will get transported the greatest distance?

Fine grain material is the cause of siltation.

Source of sediments

Increased soil erosion by deforestation

From CBP

Baltimore Harbor
Very large commercial port today Dredged to maintain channel for ships Larger ships need deeper channel What do you do with the contaminated dredged material (dredge spoil)?
Overboard disposal is banned!

Dredge Spoil Disposal

Hart-Miller Island (State Park, today)

1985 view MGS

1999 view NOAA

Poplar Island The next area

Corps of Engineers

Stream Flow
How does the velocity vary in the channel? Faster on the outside of a meander c Slower on the inside of a meander e

d b

f Same velocity in straight sections of channel

Channel cross-sections
a b

Straight

c Meander bend erosion

d deposition

inside outside How does the water velocity vary from c to d? Draw the cross-section for e-f.

The geology at a meander in a stream

Outside of bend EROSION undercutting of stream bank

Inside of bend DEPOSITION young or no vegetation How does the channel migrate with time?

another source of sediment to the Chesapeake Bay

Wave erosion
This will worsen as sea level rises!
From NOAA

Here is a lake/reservoir formed by damming a stream valley.

Former stream channels before flooding stream

What do you notice about the shape of the man-made lake?

lake

What is the fate of the lake? As the fast flowing streams flow into the quieter lake water, what happens to sediment?

Natural vs. Man-Made Lakes

How do you tell the difference? Natural lakes are bowl, rounded in shape- formed by subsidence or glacial carving. Man-make lakes are irregular, typically following topography of stream drainage. Plus look for the dam!

DEEP CREEK LAKE, MARYLAND

Not part of Bay watershed, goes to Miss. River

N
Marylands largest man-made lake.

dam