T1 PM Contaminant Cycling Assessment and Prevention in the NY/NJ Harbor (Part 2)
Tuesday, 15 November 2005: 1:50 PM - 5:30 PM in Ballroom 1

(WIL-1117-822463) The New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for the NY-NJ Harbor: Estimated loads of sediment and organic carbon in tributaries to Newark and Raritan Bays, New Jersey.

Wilson, T¹, Bonin, J¹, ¹ US Geological Survey, West Trenton, NJ, USA

ABSTRACT- As part of the New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for the NY-NJ Harbor, the US Geological Survey sampled at the heads-of-tide of the major tributaries (Passaic, Raritan, Rahway, Elizabeth, and Hackensack Rivers) to Newark and Raritan Bays. Sampling was conducted during low-flow and storm conditions for suspended sediment (SS), particulate and dissolved organic carbon (POC, DOC) and organic and inorganic constituents. Integration of discharge and concentration data provided loads for the sampled events, however, these loads could not be used to calculate annual loads required for modeling efforts. To estimate annual loads, rating curves were prepared using historic suspended sediment and carbon concentration data. Annual load, adjusted for bias introduced by log-transformation, were calculated for select years and for the 25-year period, 1975-2000. This talk presents our methods and estimated loads of SS and POC for the tributaries. Estimated average annual loads of SS range from 0.4 to 93 million kilograms per year (MKg/yr), and fall in the order: Raritan> Passaic >Rahway > Elizabeth> Hackensack. Estimated average annual loads of POC range from 0.014 to 0.866 MKg/yr, and fall in the order Raritan > Passaic > Hackensack > Rahway > Elizabeth. The ratios of estimate annual sediment load (Mkg/yr) per square mile of basin area, a measure of the mass erosion in each basin, range from 0.003 up to 0.12, and fall in the order Raritan > Passaic > Rahway, Elizabeth> Hackensack. The ratio of estimated annual SS load to yearly discharge, equivalent to the average annual concentration, range from 35 to 508 kg/million gallons of discharge, and fall in the order Raritan > Passaic > Rahway, Elizabeth > Hackensack. These loads and other values can be interpreted in light of basin parameters, and can be used to calculate chemical loads.

Key words: New Jersey Rivers, Sediment and Carbon Loads