Surface-sediment grain-size distributions of the Elwha River delta, Washington, February 2016

Surface sediment was collected on February 16, 2016 at a total of 83 locations using a small ponar, or 'grab', sampler from the R/V Frontier in water depths between 17 and 1 m around the delta. An additional 18 samples were collected by hand at low tide between February 17 and February 18, 2016. 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 suitable samples 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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