Estimating the spatial distribution of dredged material disposed of at sea using particle-size distributions and metal concentrations

Tomonari Okada, Piers Larcombe, Claire Mason

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present a method to estimate the spatial distribution of dredged material disposed of at sea. Using both dredged sediments and samples of sea-bed sediment from near the Rame Head disposal site, Plymouth, UK, we applied entropy analysis to the <63 μm sediment fraction and combined the results with the trace metal data in the same fraction, to form a series of groups. We interpret the distribution of sediments in one group (F1) to approximate the distribution of material affected by the disposal site. This distribution includes locations close to the disposal site, and also locations <4 km to the SE and SW, <6 km to the NW and <2 km to the N. This approach demonstrates the feasibility of using trace metal analysis of particular grain size fractions to reduce uncertainty in interpreting the spatial distribution of impacts of dredge disposal. Crown

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1164-1177
Number of pages14
JournalMarine Pollution Bulletin
Volume58
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2009
Externally publishedYes

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