Download Free Galveston Bay Dredged Disposal Site Designation Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Galveston Bay Dredged Disposal Site Designation and write the review.

This study was part of an investigation to determine the environmental effects of offshore dredged material disposal at Galveston, Texas. The biological portion of the study was conducted in two phases: a pilot survey of the dredged material disposal site (DMDS) to determine the areal distribution of the biota and sediments; and an experimental study to assess the effect of dredged material disposal on the biota at selected sites in the DMDS. Three experimental sites were investigated: a sandy bottom that received sand, shell, and silt-clay dredged material; a muddy bottom that received sand and shell dredged material; and a muddy bottom that received silt-clay dredged material. The magnitude of the effect on the benthic populations could not be accurately assessed because adequate predisposal data on natural sediment and benthic population changes were not available. Dredged material deposits had no apparent effect on feeding habits of fish or on the distribution of nekton, although some nektonic species may have congregated in the turbid water following dredged material disposal. Zooplankton and phytoplankton studies detected no population changes during disposal that could not have been due to sampling error. It is probable that sudden abiotic changes and commercial fishing activities cause more destruction of biota than dredging-related activities.
A phase of the DMRP which was particularly important to the overall objectives of the program was comprised of field studies designed to evaluate the actual environmental impact of dredged material disposal at selected sites in the U.S. One of these sites was in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately five miles off of Galveston, Texas. The DMRP project at Galveston consisted of three major components: studies on the currents, geology and fate of dredged sediments deposited at the Galveston site; water-quality studies on the water column and sediments before, during and after dredge material disposal operations; and studies on the effect of dredged material disposal on the numbers and types of aquatic organisms present in the disposal area. This report presents the results of the water-quality studies conducted in the Galveston Bay Entrance Channel disposal area.