This study was initiated to overview the sediment contaminant monitoring data of Kaohsiung Harbour areas collected between 92-97 for assessing the discharge sources of pollution and manipulating the effective management on the dredging of sediment. The harbour areas are surrounded with major industry and become the receiving sites with sewages from the populated city besides the shipping activities. These have impacted the harbour environment and its development for competing against other world shipping harbours. The present research intends to evaluate the proper strategy for dealing with the reduction of pollution source to prevent from further complicated environmental impacts. Approaches for the data assessment include the distribution of heavy metal concentration and its types of contaminants associated the discharge of industrial sources. A total of 20 monitoring stations were examined for the interrelation of metals. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of heavy metals in sediment result shows specific site related contaminant point sources and the localization of pollution at the enclosed areas. Lowest contaminant concentrations were observed at the exit of harbour, area A. The B Area including the estuary of Love River, between Love River and the fifth ship irrigation ditch, and the fifth ship irrigation ditch, dominated the highest element concentrations of Hg, Cd, Pb, Zn, As, Al. The C area, including the former town river to the sea, had highest Cr concentration.The sources of pollution are related to electrical plating, metal polishing factory, leather industries and other industrial production. The D area including the heavy industries i.e., Taiwan Ship Building, Taiwan Steel Manufacturing, Ta-Lin Power Station and the major shipping channel, had the highest Cu concentrations. Similarly the E area as the A area, located at the end exit of harbour, had the lowest metal concentrations. These two areas are more subjected to the tide flow than the other survey stations (B, C, D areas) which have the highest contaminant concentrations. Although the harbour authority has carried out the dredging and monitoring annually, there is no enforcement on regulating the discharge of contaminants from the surrounding industrial sites or the lack of the appropriate strategy of pollution reduction for incorporating with the clean up program. This is owing to the non unified authorization between the municipality and harbour bureau. The present study suggests that four steps are needed to cope with harbour sediment contamination to achieve the sustainable harbour development; 1. appropriate pollution reduction program, 2.long term environmental monitoring, 3.an unified authority and 4.a sediment management strategy with proper guidelines to prevent from land based pollution source discharge.

Dams have altered flow distributions in rivers everywhere, causing a host of changes in channel morphology and sediment dynamics. Although major changes in flow regime have occurred along Yegua Creek, Texas, since the closure of Somerville Dam in 1967, the issue of sediment transport has not been studied in detail. The extent to which sediment is moving through the system remains unclear. This study addresses the extent to which sediment is moving through and downstream of the dam. Analysis of sediment samples collected at 23 sites in the Yegua Creek channel system showed that coarse sand to silt-sized materials dominate the creek upstream of the dam, whereas finer silt and clay sediments characterize the downstream portions. Calculation of the trapping efficiency of the dam indicates that approximately 99.8% of materials from the upper watershed are trapped behind Somerville Dam. Investigations of sediment mobility further suggest that present flows are capable of mobilizing sediments downstream of the dam. Although a de-coupling between the upper and lower portions of the Yegua Creek watershed has likely occurred due to the high rate of sediment trapping, new sediment sources that include tributaries and alluvial storage likely play a larger role in providing materials for sediment transport downstream. Despite a reuction in peak flows, the channel morphology of Yegua Creek has apparently adjusted over the four decades since construction of Somerville Dam to achieve a new equilibrium characterized by sediment movement. These results are corroborated by analysis of aerial photographs. These findings augment our understanding of the many facets of the response of fluvial systems to the disturbance posed by dam construction. Because Yegua Creek is a major tributary to the Brazos River draining to the Texas coast, increased understanding of sediment dynamics within Yegua Creek provides critical insights into the efficacy of sediment delivery in a regional context, and ultimately to the Texas coastline. The findings of this study also provide useful information for managing stream ecosystems affected by impoundments.

The subject of this study was to provide the link between benthic foraminiferal assemblages and the surrounding environments. Stained sediment samples were collected from northeast and southwest South China Sea. In addition to the faunal census, cluster analysis and the stable isotope of benthic foraminiferal shells were measured. The results were compared with other parameters, such as %TOC, %CaCO3, and coarse fraction in the sediment. The spatial distribution of stained and total benthic foraminifera seems not to be related with either TOC contents in sediment or the sampling water depth. This is probably because of the TOC contents may not reflect the food supply directly. Cluster analysis of the faunal assemblages in Kaoping submarine canyon shows that all species in this study could be divided into three main groups. The first group is the shallow-intermediate infauna. It distributes in the inner shelf and the proportion decreases as the water depth increased. The second group is those species live in the shallow water. The third group is infauna along the outer shelf and slope. The cluster analysis of the faunal assemblages in the Sunda Shelf can be also divided into three groups. The first group is infaunal taxa. The second is epifauna- shallow infauna and disseminates in the shallow water. The third group is epifaunal taxa. The result of stable isotope of benthic foraminiferal shells in Kaoping submarine canyon does not show any clear relationship between oxygen and carbon isotopes. It is possibly because the selected species is not suitable for isotope analysis or the specimens are not sufficient. But the isotope measurements obtained from the Sunda Shelf reveal the great consistence with the variation of temperature and salinity in bottom water. Some species found in the Sunda Shelf even have great potential in paleoceanography study.

No description available.

The purposes of this study are to understand distributions and historical pollution records of heavy metals in sediments from the Kaoping coastal areas. Surface sediments were collected from coastal areas of the Kaohsiung 1st Harbor, the Kaohsiung 2nd Harbor and the Kaoping River. Three gravity cores were also collected from the Kaohsiung Harbor near the Chien-chen River mouth, coastal areas adjacent to the Kaohsiung 2nd Harbor and the Kaoping Estuary. Distributions of heavy metals( Al¡BCd¡BCr¡BCu¡BFe¡BMn¡BNi¡BPb¡BZn), total organic carbon(TOC), total nitrogen(TN) and grain size in sediments were investigated. 210Pb chronology and stable lead isotope ratios( 206Pb/207Pb¡B208Pb/206Pb¡B208Pb/207Pb) were applied for revealing the historical records of metal pollution. Experimental results show that sediments in the Kaoping coastal areas were polluted substantially with Cr, Pb and Zn. The metal pollution were relatively significant at the Kaohsiung 1st Harbor, the Kaohsiung 2nd Harbor, three outfall fields, nearshore areas (Da-lin-pu, Kaoping River, Tungkang River, Linpan River and Tapong Bay) and inner of the Kaoping Submarine Canyon. Distributions of heavy metals in sediments from the Kaohsiung Harbor coastal areas were apparently influenced by the distributions of grain size and organic matter. The metal pollution is heavier within the Kaohsiung Harbor than in coastal areas adjacent to the Harbor. The Chien-chen River is one of major sources of metal pollution in the Kaohsiung Harbor. According to 210Pb dating, the sedimentation rate near the Chien-chen River mouth is about 0.78 cm/y. The onset of rapid increase of metal pollution was in 1958, the time coincident with the re-construction of the Kaohsiung Harbor. The Kaoping Submarine Canyon played a major role on the transport and deposition of heavy metals discharged from the Kaoping River. The variation of topography and current results in enrichment of fine sediments in the Kaoping Submarine Canyon, where heavy metals were likely accumulated and enriched in fine sediments. Significant metal pollution beginning around 1972 was revealed from a sediment cone near the Kaoping Estuary. Anthropogenic metals may be released from the industrial parks along the Kaoping River.

The coastal wetlands at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge near Austwell, Texas, support the last migrating population of whooping cranes during the winter months (October through April). With a population currently at 216 individuals, these are the rarest cranes in the world. The wetlands in which they winter are a part of the San Antonio Bay system, a bay that receives constant fresh water flow from the Guadalupe River. Currently there is a plan for using water diverted from the Guadalupe River just before it enters San Antonio Bay as a water supply for the greater San Antonio metropolitan area located 200 km to the northwest. The Guadalupe River delivers nutrients and sediment into the estuary along with fresh water. Because of the importance of sediment within a tidal wetland ecosystem, it is imperative to understand the sediment budget and underlying forces that drive it if one is to ultimately grasp how this ecosystem functions. To document natural and anthropogenic factors exerting control over sediment movement in this system, three sites on tidal creeks near the boundary between marsh and bay were chosen. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterwayparallels the marsh edge. Over six, non-consecutive weeks water level and velocity were automatically monitored in the tidal creeks. Automated water samplers extracted water samples that were analyzed for suspended sediment. In addition, bedload traps were deployed in one creek to monitor sediment movement along the channel bottom. Inflow exceeded outflow during the study. As a result there was a net influx of suspended sediments into the marsh. Bedload material also moves with current direction, and it appears to move in response to barge induced outflow currents. Barges passing on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway exert influence on water level, flow direction, and velocity within tidal creeks. Natural factors such as winds, tides, and freshwater input from upland runoff or river discharge also impact suspended and bedload sediments.

The bottom sediments near the coast of Taiwan Strait are mainly terrestrial origins. The sediment transport processes are controlled by the meteorology hydrology factors, including winds, waves, flows and sea level variations. This study is aimed to investigate the influence of wave-current interaction to the sediment dynamics in the vicinity Shuitou Harbor of Chinmen. Emphasize is placed on analysis of observed meteorology and hydrology data and the bottom topography. The data used in this study are from the field observations during the development of Shuitou Harbor. The hourly data include winds, currents, waves and tides. Additional bottom topography surveys were carried out twice per year, one in April and the other in October. The period of time series data is between October, 2001 and April, 2006. The results of the analyses showed that (1) During the period of northeast monsoon, deposit dominated in the northern part of the study area (Shuitou Harbor vicinity), while erosion dominated in the southern part. The deposition and erosion phenomena reversed during the period of southwest monsoon. (2) The bottom topography variations had higher correlation with the large waves and flows in the winter northeast monsoon season. (3) Winds correlate well with the large waves and flows in the winter, while the correlation is weak in the summer. (4) Resuspension of bottom sediments seems play a major role in the sediment transport, especially in the winter large wave condition. During persistent northeast monsoon, wave height increased significantly that bottom sediments were eroded and transported by the southward mean flow, erosion occurred (in the southern part of the study area). (5) There are two likely sources of sediment. The major source of sediment is from the north, brought by the southward China coastal current in winter. The second source of sediment is from the south, Jiulong River, which occurred mostly in the summer. (6) The long term analysis of topography variations in the vicinity of Shuitou Harbor showed that there is a balance of deposition and erosion. The depositions in the northern part of the study area during the northeast monsoon were eroded and moved north during the period of southwest monsoon. On the other hand, in the southern area, the erosions during the winter were supplied by northward sediment movement in summer. In the long term, the seabed terrain of Shuitou Harbor has no significant change.

This study presents the first reconstruction of pollution history of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Taiwan coast. Six sediment cores were collected from Gaoping submarine canyon and its adjacent area to investigate the distribution and source recognition of PCBs. The concentrations of PCBs in the cores from Gaoping canyon ranged 0.155--2.281 ng/g dry wt, whereas the maximum concentrations of PCBs reached 21.0 and 2.93 ng/g dry wt, respectively, in the cores from the northern and sourthern continental shelf of Gaoping canyon. The toxicological effects assessed by sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), show that only 2-10cm in core L27 exceeded the guideline value suggested by Förstner (6 ng/g), which indicated the sediment in this area had been polluted seriously and should not be disturbed. Overall, compared with studies in the world, the sediment PCB concentrations in Kao-Ping coastal areas were relatively low. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis identified the source of PCBs in the study area was a mixture of Aroclor 1016, Aroclor 1242 and Aroclor 1260. Similarity in vertical variations of total concentrations of PCBs among the six cores was observed and the trend is consistent with the history of the PCB usage in Taiwan. The drastic decrease in PCB concentrations around the late 1980s, clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the ban of PCBs use in 1980 in Taiwan.

Thesis (M.C.E.)--University of Delaware, 2009. / Principal faculty advisor: Jack A. Puleo, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineer. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2003. / Title from title page screen (viewed Apr. 13, 2004). Thesis advisor: Carol P. Harden. Document formatted into pages (x, 168 p. : ill. (some col.)). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-142).