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26 - Contaminant Chronologies from Hudson River Sedimentary Records
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- By Richard F. Bopp, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Steven N. Chillrud, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Edward L. Shuster, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, H. James Simpson, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
- Edited by Jeffrey S. Levinton, State University of New York, Stony Brook, John R. Waldman
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- Book:
- The Hudson River Estuary
- Published online:
- 06 January 2010
- Print publication:
- 09 January 2006, pp 383-397
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Summary
abstract Analyses of sections from dated sediment cores have been used to construct contaminant chronologies in the Hudson River Basin and the New York/New Jersey Harbor complex. Dating information was derived primarily from radionuclide analyses. The known input history of 137Cs, a radionuclide derived from global fallout and nuclear reactor discharges, places important constraints on estimates of net sediment accumulation rates. 7Be, a natural radionuclide with a 53 day half-life is detectable in surficial samples with a significant component of particles deposited within a year of core collection. Persistent contaminants analyzed in dated Hudson sediments include PCBs, dioxins, chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides, and trace metals such as copper, lead, zinc, cadmium, chromium, and mercury. The combination of temporal and geographic information from these analyses is most valuable and provides a general basinwide perspective on the significant improvement in contaminant levels in the Hudson over the past several decades. It has also allowed us to trace the influence of several major contamination incidents in the basin, including PCB and trace metal inputs to the Upper Hudson River and dioxin and DDT discharges to the Lower Passaic River.
Introduction
Over the past several decades, many thousands of sediment samples have been collected from the Hudson River, its tributaries and the New York/New Jersey (NY/NJ) Harbor complex (Fig. 26.1). This chapter will focus on insights gained from analyses on a very select subset of those samples – sections of dated sediment cores.
7 - Major Ion Geochemistry and Drinking Water Supply Issues in the Hudson River Basin
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- By H. James Simpson, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Steven N. Chillrud, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Richard F. Bopp, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Edward Shuster, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Damon A. Chaky, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
- Edited by Jeffrey S. Levinton, State University of New York, Stony Brook, John R. Waldman
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- Book:
- The Hudson River Estuary
- Published online:
- 06 January 2010
- Print publication:
- 09 January 2006, pp 79-96
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- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
abstract This chapter uses data from a few representative sampling sites in the Hudson basin to understand variations in major ion concentrations, which are used as one simple proxy of gross drinking water quality. Other water supply issues, including potential implications of dissolved organic carbon concentrations on drinking water quality, are also discussed. The major ion content of surface waters is largely determined by precipitation chemistry, dry deposition from the atmosphere, chemical weathering of rock and soil minerals, and anthropogenic loadings, and then modified by biogeochemical reactions that take place within the system. (1) Based on data reported for West Point, New York by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), precipitation chemistry in the Hudson River basin is similar to that in much of the northeastern United States. As a result of upwind and regional fossil fuel combustion, sulfate and nitrate are the most abundant anions and hydrogen is the most abundant cation (i.e., dilute solutions of sulfuric and nitric acids). Ammonium, chloride, and sodium have lower concentrations, with the latter two derived mostly from marine aerosols. Chloride appears to have an additional, nonmarine, source accounting for at least 25 percent of wet deposition of this ion at West Point. (2) Major element chemistry of surface waters in the Hudson River basin strongly reflects bedrock geology of tributary catchments. Adirondack and Catskill Mountain and Hudson Highland streams have low total dissolved solids (TDS) typical of ancient crystalline, metamorphic, or previously weathered coarse silicic sedimentary formations. In contrast, the significantly higher TDS of the Mohawk River reflect drainage from large areas of sedimentary rocks including limestones, carbonate-rich shales, and evaporite minerals.