Marine Environmental Planning Guide for the Hampton Roads/Norfolk Operating Area.
Abstract
The marine environment of the Atlantic Ocean for about 180 miles east of the costs of Virginia and North Carolina is summarized and evaluated to estimate the effects of introduced pollutants. Winds, currents, waves, temperature, salinity and density of the water, geology and biology, and the marine ecosystem are discussed and summarized in charts and tables. Surface materials in the Hampton Roads/Norfolk Naval Operating Area will be moved offshore into the Gulf Stream by wind-induced surface flow during 10 months of the year. This flow is reversed during September and October and carries these materials toward the coast - more rapidly as distance to shore decreases. A model, using an ellipse technique, predicts dispersion directions of surface or suspended material in the Area. The ellipses are closely related to the surface currents and are elongated in the direction of prevailing flow. A second model predicts the dispersion of dredge spoil or other deposits over the seabed. Orbital and forward drift velocities are sufficient during autumn, winter, and spring to erode and transport sediment, such as dredge spoil, on the Continental Shelf. Bottom transport in the area is predominantly toward the coast regardless of the season. Surface, subsurface, and bottom currents probably will least affect introduced pollutants seaward of the Continental Shelf and north of 36 deg 30 min N. Any stresses that reduce the biomass of autotrophs or cause a loss in their production efficiency will decrease the productivity of the entire ecosystem. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1974
- Accession Number
- ADA085006
Entities
People
- Robert G. Beauchamp
Organizations
- Naval Oceanographic Office