Bay sediment budget: Sediment accounting 101

Abstract

Comparison of a budget developed for 1955-1990 with a budget developed for 1995- 2002 showed decreasing sediment inflow and increased amounts leaving the Bay to upland disposal and sand mining, resulting in an increased rate of erosion of sediment from the Bay floor Finding a way to shift disposal from the Ocean back to the Bay could provide sediment for restoration projects and decrease dredging costs Increased erosion of the Bay is mobilizing legacy contaminants from the sediment bed Restoration projects could increase erosion and mobilization of legacy contaminants Sand mining, ignored in previous budgets, removes almost twice as much sediment from the Bay as dredging