Sea floor mapping of pockmark field at mouth of Penobscot River.
Location
Penobscot River, Belfast Bay, Penobscot Bay, Maine, United States, North Atlantic;
Summary
The survey took place from 11-18 September on board the R/V Rafael. We collected swath bathymetry, sidescan sonar backscatter, and sub-bottom profiles over an area of approximately 25 km2. The survey focused on the mouth of the Penobscot River where it enters upper Penobscot Bay (also known as Belfast Bay). This area is the primary depositional site for sediment carried by the river, and would probably experience significant impacts if/when the proposed dam removals occur in upstream areas. With these data as a pre-removal baseline, we will be able to quantify any changes in bottom morphology and substrate conditions that might result from releasing sediment from upstream impoundments. These new data will be compared to a bathymetric survey collected in 1999 by NOAA that covers part of the same area. Where the data overlap, we will be able to determine what (if any) changes have occurred over the last 7 years and make conclusions about the rates and patterns of sediment accumulation at the mouth of the river.
Comments
Original Center People field contained: Barry Irwin (boat captain); William Danforth (tech); Emile Bergeron (tech); Brian Andrews (data processing); Walter Barnhardt (PI).
Project = Belfast Bay Pockmarks, Belfast Bay Pockmarks
Seismic reflection-tracklines, shotpoints, and profile images collected in the Belfast Bay, Maine pockmark field using an EdgeTech SB-424 subbottom profiler during USGS field activities 2006-024-FA and 2009-037-FA
Bathymetric data collected in the Belfast Bay, Maine pockmark field using a SWATHplus-M interferometric sonar in 2006 and 2008, by the U.S. Geological Survey
Bathymetry tracklines collected in the Belfast Bay, Maine pockmark field using a SWATHplus-M interferometric sonar in 2006 and 2008, by the U.S. Geological Survey
