Sedimentation Rates & Sediment Distributions Lab

SO461 Lab, Fall 2008

This lab will be done in groups of no more than 3.

You should run the option in MICRODEM to download data (File, Tools, Download Data sets) and get:

• East coast seds, which will be placed in c:\mapdata\database\surf_sed_east_coast\
• Chesapeake Bay seds, which will be placed in c:\mapdata\database\ches_bay_sed\
• Ches Bay Bathymetery, which will be placed in c:\mapdata\dems\

• We have two sediment databases, one from the USGS East Coast Sediment Data Base, and one from the Maryland Geological Survey for the Chesapeake Bay. The two have different formats. The help file for MICRODEM has a tutorial on how to analyze this data.  Insure that you understand the Shephard ternary diagram.
• You have two digital elevation models that can help with the interpretation: the predicted bathymetry for the big picture, and Ches Bay Bathymetery that you downloaded above.
• Requirements.  Write a paragraph that answers this question, and support your answer with maps:
  • Where is there appreciable gravel, both in the Chesapeake Bay and offshore on the East Coast (you can define appreciable as 10% or 25%)?
  • Where is there sand, both in the Chesapeake Bay and offshore?
  • Where are the fines (silt and clay) located, both in the Chesapeake Bay and offshore?
  • How do sediment distribution patterns vary in the Chesapeake Bay and offshore, and what appears to control this?  For the bay consider both changes along the length of the bay, and across the bay.