Surface-sediment grain-size distributions from the Elwha River delta, Washington, March 2013

Surface sediment was sampled using a small ponar, or 'grab', sampler on March 4, 2013 from the R/V Frontier at a total of 48 locations in water depths between about 1 and 12 m around the delta. An additional 7 sediment samples were collected between March 6 and March 7, 2013 at low tide from intertidal locations on the delta. A handheld global satellite navigation system (GNSS) receiver was used to determine the locations of sediment samples. Grab samples that yielded less than 50 g of sediment were omitted from analysis and are classified as "no sample".

The grain-size distributions of samples that yielded more than 50 g of sediment were determined in the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center sediment lab. Approximately 20 g of sediment was sub-sampled and 10 mL of 35 percent hydrogen peroxide was added to remove organic material in the sample. The sample was heated at 250 degrees C to remove any remaining hydrogen peroxide and was placed in an ultrasonic bath to liberate the fine fraction. Subsequently, the sample was centrifuged for 1.5 hours to remove soluble salts. Samples were funneled through 2 mm and 63 um sieves to separate the gravel (greater than 2 mm), sand (63 um to 2 mm), and mud (less than 63 um). The sand and gravel fractions were dried in an 80 degree C oven and weighed. Five mL of sodium hexametaphosphate was added to the mud fraction and a 20 mL aliquot was taken from a 1 L graduated cylinder to determine the weight of the mud. The particle-size distribution of the mud and sand fractions was analyzed separately using a Beckman Coulter LS 13 320, and the gravel, sand, and mud results were integrated into a single grain-size distribution for each sample.

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