Color-Encoded Image of 5-m Gridded Hill-Shaded Bathymetry From Long Island Sound off Milford, Connecticut (H11044_GEO_5MBATHY.TIF, Geographic)

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, has produced detailed geologic maps of the sea floor in Long Island Sound, a major East Coast estuary surrounded by the most densely populated region of the United States. These studies have built upon cooperative research with the State of Connecticut that was initiated in 1982. The current phase of this research program is directed toward studies of sea-floor sediment distribution, processes that control sediment distribution, nearshore environmental concerns, and the relation of benthic community structures to the sea-floor geology.
Anthropogenic wastes, toxic chemicals, and changes in land-use patterns resulting from residential, commercial, and recreational development have stressed the environment of the Sound, causing degradation and potential loss of benthic habitats (Koppelman and others, 1976; Long Island Sound Study, 1994). Detailed maps of the sea floor are needed to help evaluate the extent of adverse impacts and to help manage resources wisely in the future. Therefore, in a continuing effort to better understand Long Island Sound, we have interpolated and regridded this NOAA bathymetric survey into a complete-coverage acoustic image of the sea floor. The image presented herein covers a 77.5 km square area of the sea floor in west-central Long Island Sound off Milford, Connecticut and was produced from data collected during NOAA survey H11044.
This imagery may serve many purposes, including: (1) defining the geological variability of the sea floor, which is one of the primary controls of benthic habitat diversity; (2) improving our understanding of the processes that control the distribution and transport of bottom sediments and the distribution of benthic habitats and associated infaunal community structures; and (3) providing a detailed framework for future research, monitoring, and management activities. This bathymetry may also serve as a base map for subsequent sedimentological, geochemical, and biological observations, because precise information on environmental setting is important for selection of sampling sites and for accurate interpretation of point measurements.

美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey）与美国国家海洋和大气管理局（National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration，简称NOAA）以及康涅狄格州环境保护部合作，完成了长岛湾海底的详细地质填图。长岛湾是美国东海岸的重要河口湾，周边坐落着美国人口最为稠密的区域。此项研究基于1982年启动的康涅狄格州合作研究项目推进。当前该研究计划的核心方向为：海底沉积物分布、调控沉积物分布的动力过程、近岸环境关切问题，以及底栖生物群落结构与海底地质的关联机制。
人类活动废弃物、有毒化学品，以及住宅、商业和休闲开发引发的土地利用模式变迁，已对长岛湾的生态环境造成显著压力，导致底栖栖息地退化乃至潜在丧失（Koppelman等，1976；长岛湾研究计划，1994）。亟需高精度海底图件以评估负面影响的波及范围，同时为未来的资源科学管理提供支撑。为此，为持续深化对长岛湾的系统认知，我们将NOAA的水深勘测数据进行插值与重网格化处理，生成了全覆盖的海底声学影像。本次发布的影像覆盖康涅狄格州米尔福德市以西的中部长岛湾77.5平方千米海底区域，数据源自NOAA的H11044号勘测项目。
该影像可服务于多重科研与管理用途：其一，明晰海底的地质变异性——这是调控底栖生境多样性的核心控制因素之一；其二，深化对控制底沉积物分布与输运、底栖生境及相关内生底栖群落结构分布的动力过程的认知；其三，为未来的研究、监测与管理活动提供精细的基础框架。该水深数据还可作为后续沉积学、地球化学与生物学观测的基准底图，因为环境背景的精确信息对于采样点位遴选及单点测量结果的精准解读均具有重要价值。