Sedimentary Environment Map of Long Island Sound (SEDENVAV_GEO_NAD83, geographic)

Long Island Sound is one of the largest estuaries along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It is a glacially produced, semi-enclosed, northeast-southwest-trending embayment, which is 150 km long and 30 km across at its widest point. Its mean water depth is approximately 24 m. The eastern end of the Sound opens to the Atlantic Ocean through several large passages between islands, whereas the western end is connected to New York Harbor through a narrow tidal strait. Long Island Sound abuts the New York-Connecticut metropolitan area and contains more than 8 million people within its watershed. A study of the modern sedimentary environments on the sea floor within the Long Island Sound estuarine system was undertaken as part of a larger research program by the U.S. Geological Survey (Coastal and Marine Geology Program) conducted in cooperation with the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Knowledge of the bottom sedimentary environments was needed to discern the long-term fate of wastes and contaminants that have been, or potentially will be, introduced into the system and to help understand the distribution of benthic biologic habitats.

长岛海湾（Long Island Sound）是美国大西洋沿岸规模最大的河口湾之一。该海湾为冰川作用塑造的半封闭东北-西南走向水湾，全长150千米，最宽处达30千米，平均水深约24米。海湾东端通过数条岛屿间的大型水道与大西洋相通，西端则经一条狭窄的潮汐水道与纽约港相连。该海湾毗邻纽约-康涅狄格都会区，其流域范围内居住人口超800万。美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey）依托其海岸与海洋地质计划（Coastal and Marine Geology Program），联合康涅狄格州环境保护部（Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection）与美国环境保护署（U.S. Environmental Protection Agency），在一项大型研究计划框架下开展了长岛海湾河口系统海底现代沉积环境研究，本项研究为该计划的组成部分。掌握该海湾海底沉积环境的相关知识，可用于探明已引入或潜在将引入该系统的废弃物与污染物的长期归宿，同时有助于理解底栖生物栖息地的分布格局。