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DAMOS Contribution #100 - Executive Summary |
A
monitoring survey was conducted at the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site (MBDS)
from March 30 to April 4, 1992 as part of the Disposal Area Monitoring System
(DAMOS). The previous bathymetric/REMOTS monitoring surveys at MBDS occurred
in August 1990. Since that time, MBDS has been subject to two major storms,
Hurricane Bob and the Halloween Storm. In addition, initiation of a major
construction project in the Boston area , the Central Artery/Thrid Harbor
Tunnel (CA\THT) project, resulted in increased disposal activity at the site.
The objectives of the 1992 field work were to map the distribution and
thickness of dredged materials that MBDS received following the 1990 survey,
and to assess the status of the benthic communities around the reference
site. Surveying and monitoring were
conducted with precision bathymetry and REMOTS sediment profile photography.
It was predicted that
The
precision bathymetric survey detected the maximum thickness of the disposal
mound approximately 100 m west of the buoy. Dredged material detected by the
1992 REMOTS survey extended 600 m east, 400 m south, 800 m west, and 400 m
north of the buoy location. The results of the survey showed there to be no
substantial resuspension or transport of dredged material occurred as a
result of Hurricane Bob and the Halloween Storm. The
benthic communities at the reference areas and at the stations away from the
center of the disposal mound contained Stage III taxa, indicative of a
well-colonized, healthy benthic community. Evidence benthic recolonization at
the mound and the abundance of Stage III infauna at the disposal site and
reference area stations indicate no severe disturbance from disposal
activities or from the two storms in 1991. |
Dated March 6, 1997