Environmental Studies of Murrells Inlet, Georgetown County, South Carolina.
Abstract
Murrells Inlet is an important harbor for recreational craft as well as a number of charter fishing boats. Encompassing about 3,330 acres, Murrells Inlet is a comparatively small system characterized by ocean beaches, sand and mud flats, intertidal shellfish beds, and expanses of saltmarsh intersected by numerous tidal streams. The inlet receives negligible freshwater inflow and salinities are high, typically approaching that of the ocean. The channel at the entrance of the inlet has constantly shifted over the years due to transport of sand by currents and wave action. The Murrells Inlet Navigation Project would provide a stabilized channel of sufficient depth and width for use by commercial and recreational vessels. In addition to channel dredging, the project would include a system of two jetties at the inlet entrance. Channel maintenane dredging about once every four years will also be necessary. The primary objectives of this environmental inventory were to conduct studies on the megabenthic communities, to collect and anlayze water and sediment samples, and to classify, survey, and chart the marsh vegetation and intertidal oyster reefs in this small neutral embayment. Our study was of a short-term nature and was not intended as a comprehensive environmental impact study of the Murrelss Inlet Navigation Project.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA152032
Entities
People
- B. B. Boothe Jr.
- C. M. Bearden
- D. R. Calder