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Notes: Abstract A numerical model of fine-grained sediment dispersion in the New York Bight of the North American continental shelf is presented. Large amounts of waste material have been dumped in this region and the dispersal patterns of this material are of great interest to environmental managers. The model assumes that fine sediment resuspension is determined by surface wave activity and that transport is determined by tidal currents. Considering surface wave activity to be a random process reduces sediment motion to a random walk which is governed by a diffusion equation. The diffusion equation is solved numerically by an implicit time difference, finite element algorithm for a number of initial conditions. Initial conditions corresponding to ocean dumping sites show patterns of dispersal controlled by the geometry of the study region and the anisotropy of the tides. Material dumped at currently used dump sites reaches sensitive coastal areas before it leaves the continental shelf. Examination of the diffusion coefficients suggests an alternative dump site for fine-grained material. This dump site is relatively near sources of dumped material but produces minimal impact on coastal areas. This site should be considered as a possible alternative to expensive direct disposal at deep ocean sites.

Notes: The ridge and swale topography of the Middle Atlantic Bight is best developed on the Delaware-Maryland inner shelf. Here sand ridges can be seen in all stages of formation. Several aspects of the ridge field are pertinent to the problem of ridge genesis. The first is ridge morphology. There is a systematic morphologic change from shoreface ridges through nearshore ridges to offshore ridges, which reflects the changing hydraulic regime. As successively more seaward ridges are examined, maximum side slope decreases, the ratio of maximum seaward slope to maximum landward slope decreases, and the cross-sectional area increases. These changes in ridge morphology with depth and distance from shore appear to be equivalent to the morphologic changes experienced by a single ridge during the course of the Holocene transgression.A second aspect is the change in bottom sediment characteristics that accompanies these large-scale morphologic changes. Megaripples, sand waves and mud lenses appear in the troughs between nearshore and offshore ridges. These changes indicate that the storm flows which maintain ridges are less frequently experienced in the deeper sector, and that the role of high-frequency wave surge becomes less important relative to the role of the mean flow component in shaping the sea-floor.A third aspect is the systematic relationship of grain size to topography. Grain size is 90° out of phase with topography, so that the coarsest sand lies between the axis of the landward trough and the ridge crest, while the finest sand lies between the ridge crest and the axis of the seaward trough. This relationship is characteristic of large-scale bedforms.Finally, flow was measured and transport calculated on the same ridge during a one-month period (November 1976). Threshold was exceeded only during storm events. Mean transport was southerly and a little seaward with respect to both the ridge crest and the shoreline. These flow measurements are in conformity with the pattern of smaller bedforms. A 43-year time series of bathymetric change for this ridge reveals a systematic pattern of landward flank erosion, seaward flank deposition, and seaward crest migration.Sand ridges are considered the consequence of constructive feedback between an initial topography and the resulting distribution of bottom shear stress. The relationship between grain size and topography supports this model, but does not account directly for the oblique angle of the ridge with respect to the coastline. This feature may be due to a more rapid alongshore migration rate of the inshore edge of the ridge than the offshore edge, and the relationship between this migration rate, and the rate of shoreface retreat.

Notes: Abstract The distribution and character of small-scale and mesoscale bedforms on the surface of a large tide-built sand ridge have been observed. Sand waves, class 1 and class 2 megaripples, and ripples are abundant. A histogram of bedform spacing is strongly bimodal, indicating that megaripples and sand waves comprise discrete populations. Ripples probably also comprise a discrete population, but the limit of resolution of the side-scan sonar system arbitrarily truncates the distribution; hence a third mode cannot be observed.

Notes: Abstract Several aspects of the Maryland ridge field are pertinent to the problem of ridge genesis in response to Holocene sea-level rise. There is a systematic morphologic change fromshoreface ridges throughnearshore ridges tooffshore ridges, which reflects the changing hydraulic regime. Grain size is 90° out of phase with topography, so that the coarsest sand lies between the axis of each trough and the adjacent seaward ridge crest, while the finest sand lies between each ridge crest and the axis of the adjacent seaward trough. Finally, analysis over a 43-year period on an outer ridge reveals a systematic pattern of landward flank erosion, seaward flank deposition, and seaward crest migration. These relationships support a model which explains the ridges as consequences of the up-current shift of maximum bottom shear stress with respect to the crests of initial bottom irregularities. The oblique orientation of the ridges with respect to the beach may be at least partly due to the more rapid migration rate of the ridges’ inshore ends.

Notes: Abstract Cross-ridge grain size profiles were determined for a nearshore and an offshore sand ridge on the New Jersey shelf. On both, the coarset sands occur on the landward flank. The range and rate of change in grain size with horizontal distance are greatest on the nearshore ridge. The grain size gradient is believed to be a response of the bottom to the cross-ridge shear stress distribution during storm flows. The difference between the two ridges may be a consequence of the relict origin of the offshore ridge versus a modern origin for the nearshore ridge, or to the different flow climates of the nearshore and offshore environments.