Studies of the water column, sediments and biota at the New York bight acid waste dumpsite and a control area

In situ studies of the New York Bight acid waste disposal site and a control site on the Cholera Bank 10 km to the north-northeast were carried out in August, 1982. Visual observations and color video tapes were made and sediment samples for infaunal analyses were taken to determine if there were differences between the two sites. Visual observations revealed no obvious differences in the condition of the animals at each site, and only minor differences in abundance. Core samples from the disposal site had slightly lower species diversity and numbers of polychaetes and crustaceans than did control samples. The water column and sediments at the disposal site were quite different from those at the control area in that the dumpsite had high concentrations of floc and aggregates of this floc. No material of this kind was observed at the control site.