Anthropogenic Land Changes and Sedimentation Response in the Tidal Straits of New York City Author(s): Nicholas K. Coch, Meagan Lenna and Aislinn Deely Source: Journal of Coastal Research , March 2017, Vol. 33, No. 2 (March 2017), pp. 273- 285 Published by: Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Inc. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44161434
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This content downloaded from 86.59.13.237 on Thu, 08 Jul 2021 11:15:04 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Journal of Coastal Research 33 2 273-285 Coconut Creek, Florida March 2017
Anthropogenic Land Changes and Sedimentation Response in the Tidal Straits of New York City Nicholas K. Coch*, Meagan Lenna, and Aislinn Deely
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Queens College, City University of New York Flushing, NY 11367, U.S.A.
abstract mmĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒĒiĒĒĒĒĒĒmĒĒĒĒm^^^m^^^^m^^^^^^^^m
Coch, N.K.; Lenna, M., and Deely, A., 2017. Anthropogenic land changes and sedimentation response in the tidal straits of New York City. Journal of Coastal Research, 33(2), 273-285. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.
The sand and gravel mixtures found in the northern part of New York Harbor {i.e. Upper Bay) have long been attributed to the transport of coarse-grained sediments into the harbor from the Atlantic. A recent sedimentological study of New York Harbor suggested that the origin of this facies may have been from the East and Harlem rivers. Today, there are no tributaries supplying sediment to the East River-Harlem River system. A review of oceanographic and historical data and a detailed bottom sediment mapping program has established the historical drainage changes in New York City and the effect on sediments supplied to the East River-Harlem River system. Before the 18th Century, the East River and the Harlem River were major suppliers of coarse sediments to New York Harbor. However, development and filling in of almost all of New York's tributaries have cut off this sediment supply. The decrease in surface drainage has increased the danger of New York City flooding from Nor'easters and hurricanes. Finally, this research has shown that there are three, not two, sources of sediment for New York Harbor.
ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Tidal straits, urban estuaries, urban stream elimination.
INTRODUCTION oceanic sediments. A box core taken in the fine facies shows The Harlem and East rivers have historically alternationbeen referred of coarse- and fine-grained sediments (Figure to as rivers , despite being tidal straits that connect 4B). Athe detailed Hudson view of the lowermost sand layer shows plane River Estuary with Long Island Sound (Figure laminated 1). Neither poorly sorted sand along with sediment deforma- water body has been studied in detail. However, tionunderstanding features (convolute laminae) indicative of high current their sediment dynamics is vital to a holistic understanding velocities. of sediment transport in the estuarine system of Thesouthwestern resolution of the origin of this coarse facies would require New York. a detailed analysis of bottom sedimentation in the Harlem and The traditional view of New York Harbor sedimentation is East rivers. It would also require an analysis of historical that the harbor was filled by a combination of finer-grained records to determine whether there were any river changes estuarine sediments, supplied by the Hudson, and coarse- that would have altered sediment dynamics in the past. The grained shelf sediments moved northward through the harbor results of this study are the body of this article. (Figure 2). This has been the understanding presented in previous studies, as well as the initial thoughts of the authors. Geology of the Harlem-East River System The Harlem River extends SW from the Hudson River and However, a recently completed study of New York Harbor by Coch (2016) showed a different picture. Detailed sampling joins the East River to the S (Figure 5). Both tidal straits are showed a mass of coarse sediment extending W and SW from lithologically and structurally controlled by the outcrop of the lower Manhattan into the Hudson River Estuary (Figure Cambro-Ordovician3). Inwood Marble, which is the weakest This suggested that the East River could have been a major metamorphic rock in the New York City series (Schuberth, sediment source for New York Harbor. However, reconnais- 1968). Outcrops of the Inwood Marble account for many of the sance sampling showed there was no sediment being low areas in northern New York City. Each outcrop area is deposited in the East River today. In addition, there are no bordered on both sides by ridges developed on the more- modern tributaries that could supply sediments to the resistant Manhattan schist and Fordham gneiss. These low system. areas are places where streams might be expected to develop, but none are visible. Coch (2016) studied this anomalous coarse facies in detail (Figure 4). He noted that the coarse facies was bounded on Oceanography of the Harlem-East River System the south by fine sediments, similar to those in the Hudson The Harlem River and East River tidal straits are among Estuary (Figure 4A). It was also isolated from supply by the most complex waterways in the United States. Tidal velocities can be quite high. For example, one of the 50 DOI: 10.2112 /JCOASTRES-D-16A-00012 received 10 June 2016; highest tidal velocities in the United States occurs near Hell accepted in revision 4 July 2016; corrected proofs received Gate (Figure 6) in the East River. The system is composed of 5 September 2016. Corresponding author: [email protected] a series of tidal straits and estuaries that are out of phase ®Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc. 2017 tidally. In addition, there are major inputs of fresh water
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Figure 2. Previous interpretation of sedimentation in the Upper Bay of New Figure 1. Map showing study York Harbor. (Color area for this figure and is available locations in the online version of this cited in the text. SD = Spuyten Duyvil, RI = Roosevelt paper.) Island, HG = Hell Gate, GI = Governors Island. (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
York Harbor (Figure 1). Distinct topographic features moved from New York City Marmer sewage (1935) to subdivide plants. the East River into Thelower and East River receives a large quantity of both treated and untreated sewerage upper river areas. The lower East River is a narrow channel waste. The dry weather discharge of secondarily treated approximately 400 m wide, with an average depth of 12 m. It sewerage in the Upper East River amounts to 580 million gal extends 11.5 km from the Battery to Hell Gate. The northern d_1 (2,196 million L d-1). This is 43% of the average dry- end of the lower East River is split by Roosevelt Island into weather discharge of the New York City sewage system two channels. The western channel is deeper and most (Interstate Sanitation Commission, 1971). significant for tidal flow. The upper East River, from Hell There have been several studies of the water characteristics Gate to Throggs Neck, is 11 km long and is larger and wider in the system but no published data, to our knowledge, on than the lower East River. It has numerous islands and its sediment dispersal within the system. The purpose of this average depth is less than that of the lower East River section is to review the published oceanographic studies (Marmer,to 1935). make inferences about sediment dispersal within the system. The East River was the focus of most hydrographie studies of New York Harbor conducted before 1950. This interest was Harlem River based on the erroneous assumption that the nontidal transport The Harlem River is a narrow strait about 12 km long from the Hell Gate to its confluence northward with the Hudson was the sole determinant of pollution transport in the East River. It was thought that the observed net flow toward the River at Spuyten Duyvil (Figure 1). Its average depth is about 6.8 m (below the mean low water level), and its harbor provided a means of flushing sewage through the Narrows during low-runoff conditions, when the Hudson River topography and cross-section are relatively uniform. Blum- flow was insufficient for that purpose (Jay and Bowman, 1975). berg and Pritchard (1997) reported mass balance and flux Future research was to show that was not the case. calculations, which indicated that the Harlem River had Bowman (1976) conducted a current-meter study in the East large variations in flux. During the winter, volumes of water with fluxes of 100 m3 s_1 flowed toward New York Harbor. River for five tidal cycles during a 5-day period from 12 October 1959 to 17 October 1959. He found that the East River had a However, in the summer, fluxes of 50 m3 s-1 flowed in the two-layer flow, with a near-surface transport of 480 m3 s_1 opposite direction from New York Harbor into the Harlem River. directed toward Long Island Sound and an equal transport directed toward the Battery at depth. East River The East River is known for its high tidal velocities (Figure The East River is a narrow, tidally dominated system 6). This tidal strait is connected to Long Island Sound on one connecting Long Island Sound with the Upper Bay of New end and to the Upper Bay of New York Harbor on the other end.
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Figure 3. Photos of Shipek samples taken in the anomalous coarse fades south of the Battery. (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
Figure 4. (A) X-radiograph of box core NYH-12 showing alternations of coarse (East River supplied) sediment (E) and fine-grained (Hudson supplied?) sediments (H) (B) Map of fades south of the Battery and the location of Core NYH-12 (Coch, 2016). (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
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GLACIAL HARTLAND FM. SCHIST MARBLE GNEISS HMMMMI .-T. rC« rC« MH Pleistocene ^ Cembro- Ontovlcisn - ^ Pre-Cambrisn
Figure 5. Geologic map of the New York City area showing the relation of the Harlem River to various geologic units (Schuberth, 1968). (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
This causes the tidal bulgeHardy to (1971) arrive did at aeach detailed end ofstudy the Eastof the oceanographic River with a different characteristics amplitude and ofphase Long height. Island High Sound tide and is the East River. The 3 hours earlier at the upper Battery East than River it isand at Throgg'sthe western Neck. Long The Island Sound exhibit simultaneous tidal heights a vertical at Throgg's stratification, Neck and with the salinity, Battery temperature, and may differ by as much density as a meter. compatible The tidal with phase a two-layered lag at each estuarine circulation. end of the East River, The coupled tidal with current differences directions in tidal are ranges,reversed during the end establishes a hydraulic stage head of difference the tidal cyclebetween to flowthe ends.toward The the Upper Bay of New tidally established head York generates Harbor. a hydraulic The Hardy current (1971) through conceptual model of the net the East River (Hardy, circulation 1971). in the East River indicated that the Upper East
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higher elevation to the end having the temporarily lower elevation. Landeck-Miller et al. (2011) noted that the shear stress in the East River was extremely high and suspended sediments were Hudson -H" J/ J/ low. As a result, a major portion of the East River has little to no River #2.0 accumulation of sediment. / (Harlem TIDAL VELOCmES The cited research shows a two-layered flow in the East River, with bottom waters having a net flow southward into ' *2.0 AND EAST RIVERS New York Harbor. The tidal velocities reported for the East I ' 1.7 River plus the high shear stress reported by Landeck-Miller et I ' Bronx al. (2011) indicate that any sediment introduced into the East / N ' River would have been easily transported to the south. Thus, if streams once supplied sediment to the East River, the sediment KW / N ' would have been transported southward into New York Í A ]/ Queens Harbor. / 0.8* A r {( j L J/ Tidal Velocities Sedimentology of the East and Harlem Rivers 1-2Vró
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Manhattan ^ }/)y **•«» / ® mm « / / J (if h J Mussel mm « / ^ Af /Worm Colonies ____ _ : / ^ W mmm ^ types
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Figure 7. Photos of Shipek samples and lithologie plots for the lower East River. Note the marked contrast in the bottom conditions between the northern (facies D) and southern (fades E) parts of the East River. (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
synthesized into the Long facies Island Sound can maps now be examined presented to account for the in subsequent sections of this article. mapped sediment distribution in the Harlem and East rivers. The sand facies in the upper Harlem River cannot be RESULTS accounted for by supply from the Hudson River, based on The synthesis of the sediment data is shown in sedimentdetail in sampling (Figure 9). The sediments in the area Figures 7 and 8. The mapping program distinguished joining five the Hudson and Harlem rivers are all fine grained different sediment facies (A-E) in the East River-Harlem (facies A of Figure 8). River system. Coarse sands and gravelly sands (facies E) In a similar fashion, could Long Island Sound have supplied extend from New York Harbor into the mouth of the East sediment to the East River? A detailed study of the East River- River (Figure 7). The East River bottom (facies D) consists western of Long Island Sound area was conducted by Tavalero bare rock, isolated clasts, worm tube colonies, and mussel (1989) in 1987-88. His fades map (Figure 10) shows that the colonies (Figure 7). From Hell Gate in the North to the Upper western part of Long Island Sound system is dominated by fine- Bay in the south (Figure 7), there is no evidence of sediment grained sediments. being deposited. Muddy sands (facies C) cover the bottom Former Sediment Sources from Hell Gate into the lower Harlem River (Figure 8). The The absence of any present sources of coarse material made it mid to upper portions of the Harlem River (Figure 8) are necessary to examine the historical record to detect any underlain by relatively clean, medium-grained sand (facies drainage changes that could explain how coarse sediment B). The confluence of the Harlem and Hudson rivers is could once have passed regularly through the Harlem-East underlain by muddy sands (facies A). river system into New York Harbor. Present maps show no Differences in the facies are shown in Figures 7 and 8, which significant drainage into this estuarine system. Historical makes no hydrodynamic sense under present conditions. maps, dating back to the 18th Century, were examined to However, sediment input from the Hudson Estuary and/or identify any changes in drainage that had occurred in the
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ļļ ļļļ Figure 8. Photos of Shipek samples and lithologie plots for the upper East River(facies C), the Harlem River (facies B), and the entrance to the Hudson River (facies A). Note the distinct size contrasts between these three facies. (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
extensive development of New York City since County the Revolution- and flowed south along the outcrop of the Inwood ary War. Marble into the Harlem River at Spuyten Duyvil. In 1897, the Harlem Ship Canal (Figure 12B) was completed across Manhattan Streams northern Manhattan, so that shipping could avoid the tight The famous "Viehle Map" (Figure 11) shows New York turns City in the northernmost Harlem River. Tibbetts Brook once (Manhattan) as it looked in colonial times. The modern street flowed into that canal. grid is superimposed. This map has proven so accurate that it is The 1897 map of the same area (Figure 12B) showed that studied before any structure is built in Manhattan. The Tibbetts Brook was still flowing into the Harlem River, but multiple streams in the map drained areas that are underlain development was to make that brook extinct in a few years. The by the metamorphic rocks of the New York City series, as well 1967 USGS topographic map (Figure 12C) of the area showed as large areas of coarse-grained Pleistocene glacial deposits. that Tibbetts Brook had been filled in and eliminated as a Most of these former streams drained into the East River before sediment source for the Harlem-East rivers. they were eliminated during building and in the establishment The changes in the Spuyten Duyvil area are well of New York's street grid in 1821 (Roberts, 2011). The grid documented by Fluhr (1960). In colonial times, sediment involved a series of N-S avenues and W-E streets. The was transported into the Harlem River by both the E and W establishment of the grid required removing hills or cutting branches of Tibbetts Brook. By the time of the American through them and the filling in of all waterways. The central Revolution, the E branch had naturally filled in. At the time parts of Manhattan are about 35 m above sea level. These the Harlem Ship Canal was built, the W branch of Tibbetts streams would have had sufficient gradients to carry coarse Brook was still supplying sediment to the Harlem River. By sediment into the East River. the early 20th Century, Tibbetts Brook had been filled in, Bronx Streams and that area was developed. This effectively isolated a piece Examination of the 1782-83 "British Headquarters Map" of Manhattan (Marble Hill) in the Bronx. The new City of (Figure 12A) shows that Tibbetts Brook flowed into the Harlem New York filled in parts of Tibbetts Brook and diverted some River since, at least, the American Revolution. The U.S. of the discharge into subsurface tunnels in the first part of Geologic Survey (USGS) geologic folio (1897) showed that the 20th Century (Figure 13). This activity increased the Tibbetts Brook drained crystalline rocks in Westchester surface area available for development.
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The northern part of Tibbetts Brook, in Westchester County, still flows today (Figure 13A) and carries coarse sediment (Figure 13B). The Tibbetts Brook portion in New York City has been filled in, and remnants flow underground along with sewage (Figure 13C). Very little sediment is present in the tunnels (J. Craven, personal communication). Where present, the tunnel sediment (Figure 13 D) is similar to that in the free- flowing parts of Tibbetts Brook (Figure 13 B). The historical evidence shows that, over its lifetime, Tibbetts Brook could have contributed significant sediment to the Harlem River before the development in the southern part of Bronx County in the first decades of the 20th Century
Jerome Creek The detailed facies map (Figure 8) of the Harlem River showed that there was a coarsening of Harlem River sediment in the mid to lower Bronx. The P. Andrews Map of 1776 showed an unnamed creek entering the Harlem River in the lower Bronx. That creek was subsequently named "Jerome Creek" from its path along the present Jerome Avenue. The creek had established its course along an outcrop of the easily eroded C ambr o-Or do vician Inwood Marble (Figure 5). The J. Randel map of 1821 showed that an extensive marsh system at the mouth of Jerome Creek. The Figure 9. Photo of box core 1897 USGSHR-1.5A, Harlem 15-minute taken quadrangle (Figureat the14) entrance to the Harlem River. Only fine-grained provides sediment the greatest detail is of theadded relation between to Jerome the Harlem River by the Hudson River. (Color for this Creek and thefigure Harlem River. is available in the online version of this paper.) By 1897, a marsh complex, delta, and a southward- displaced spit had developed where the Jerome Creek and the Harlem River met. The southward diversion of the Jerome Creek delta spit indicates that the net sediment transport down the Harlem River was to the south, at that
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Figure 10. Fades map of the northernmost part of the East River (Tavalero, 1986). (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
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Figure 11. Map of Manhattan drainage in 1609. Townsend Mac Conn Map (New YorkHistorical Society). (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.) time. Sometime in the first decade of the 20th Century, in Figure 16B-D. The land changes and low tidal velocities of Jerome Creek was filled in for development. The fill material this area (Figure 6) would favor the deposition of finer is believed to have come from the excavation of the large material, which accounts for the fining of the sedimentary Jerome Park Reservoir in the north Bronx. facies in the lower Harlem and upper East rivers (Figure 8). Today this former Jerome Creek delta plain is heavily Today, these two islands are one, predominantly cutting off developed and includes industrial and residential structures tidal circulation between the Harlem and East rivers (Figure as well as a world-famous sports structure - Yankee Stadium 16E). (Figure 15). The area occupied by the Jerome delta plain, delta, Mineralogìe Studies of Sediment Provenance and spit suggest that a great amount of coarse-grained Preliminary mineralogical studies by P. Beaudry and J. sediment could have been supplied to the East River before Miller (unpublished data) are relevant for supporting the the 20th Century. inferences from this study. They used scanning electron Wards and Randalls Islands microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray techniques to study Wards and Randalls islands existed as entities as far back the mineralogy of all possible sources of sediment (Hudson, as colonial times (Figure 11). Up until the 20th Century New York Bight, and Tibbetts Brook) in the Harlem and East (Figure 16A), there was good tidal circulation around and rivers. Remnants of Tibbetts Brook that still flow in West- between the islands. Natural deposition, along with filling chester County were sampled (Figure 13B). The remaining and development, has almost fused these two land masses. A samples studied were from the sample collection used by Coch sequence of maps, documenting these land changes, is given (2016).
Figure 12. Map showing changes in Tibbetts Brook and the Spuyten Duyvil area since colonial times. (A) In 1782, Tibbetts Brook flows unimpeded into the Spuyten Duyvil. (B) In 1897, the Harlem Ship Channel is constructed, and Tibbetts Brook flow is eliminated in New York City. (C) In 1965, Tibbetts Brook has been completely filled in and developed. A portion of the Tibbetts Brook flow moves underground into the Harlem River. (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
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Figure 13. Views of the Tibbetts Brook and its remnants today. (A) Free- flowing brook in Westchester County. (B) Sampling modern Tibbetts Brook sediment for mineralogie studies. (C) Portion of Tibbetts Brook flowing in an underground tunnel in Bronx County. (D) Sediment patch in a turn in the tunnel (C). Note the similarity in texture with the free-flowing segment of the brook (B). (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
Figure 14. Detail of the 1897 geologic map of the Harlem Quadrangle P. Beaudry and J. Miller (unpublished data) found that the (USGS) showing the entrance of Jerome Creek into the Harlem River. Note sediments of the Harlem-East rivers most closely resemble the wide valley of Jerome Creek, the extensive delta, and the southward- those sampled in the remaining stretches of Tibbetts Brook extending delta spit. (Color for this figure is available in the online version of (Figure 13B). Specifically, the modal mineralogy of heavy this paper.) mineral separates from the Harlem River and Tibbetts Brook were most similar, despite some differences in patterns (Figures 7 and 8) that have been mapped in the study
hornblende-clinopyroxene ratios. The Hudson River sample area. was most dissimilar to other waterways because of a large Coarse sediments were supplied to the system from population of distinct, Cl-Na phosphates and a higher zircon streams draining crystalline rocks in Westchester, Bronx, count, and the New York Bight sample was also mineralog- and New York (Manhattan) counties. Fine-grained Hudson ical distinct, with higher percentages of metamorphic sediments (facies A, Figure 8) diluted the coarse Tibbetts minerals (aluminosilicates, garnet, staurolite) and low Brook sediment in the Harlem River in northernmost orthopyroxene values. Grain-size distributions also linked Manhattan. The long stretch of clean sand in the Harlem the Tibbetts Brook and Harlem River samples (which shared River (facies B) is a relict deposit of Tibbetts Brook. Further an average size of 500-600 |im) and showed them to be south on the Harlem River, Jerome Creek supplied more distinct from the Hudson River and New York Bay muds coarse material to a delta complex built into the Harlem (which averaged 200-300 |im). River. Lower tidal velocities and changes in the Wards The work of P. Beaudry and J. Miller (unpublished data) Island-Randalls Island areas resulted in the addition of provides additional support for the inference that sediments in some fine material (facies C, Figure 8). Coarse sediment was the Harlem and East rivers were originally supplied from also being supplied by the numerous streams draining former waterways in Manhattan, Westchester, and the Bronx. Manhattan before they were eliminated in the establish- The progressive filling of these streams during development ment of the Manhattan street grid. The fast tidal velocities in greatly reduced the supply of sediment to the East River tidal the E and W channels of the East River allowed all sediment delta. to bypass the East River. The evidence for this is that this entire stretch is underlain by colonies of worm tubes and DISCUSSION mussels along with bare rock (facies D, Figure 8). The Before major development in the mid- 19th Century,sediment that the finally reached New York Harbor (facies E, Harlem and East rivers were an active system supplying Figure 8) built the relict tidal delta that is located south of coarse-grained sediments to the Upper Bay of New York the Battery. Piston coring across the harbor (Figure 4) Harbor. It is now possible to explain the sedimentation indicated that the coarse East River-derived material
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Figure 15. Aerial view looking south across the former delta plain of Jerome Creek. The area has been completely filled in and developed. The old (distant) and new Yankee Stadiums (close) were built on the filled-in delta plain. (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
extends in depth and interfingers periodically The with major fine stream elimination in New York City is of great material of unquestioned Hudson River origin. concern This verticalfor future flooding in major Nor'easters and hurri- interfingering of the two facies may indicate canes. there Coch (2014) were described the effects of hurricane rainfall periods of higher East River sediment input and into saltwater New surge York in New York City during Hurricane Harbor in the past. Major additions of East Sandy.River The sediment geologic and topographic setting in New York City could have occurred in the various "pulses" isof far developmentdifferent from any urban coastal area to the south (Figure in New York City in the 19th and 20th centuries. 17). Southern urban centers are located in areas of low relief and on relatively permeable sands or karstie limestones. In contrast, major portions of New York City are underlain by
GENTLY-SLOPING COASTAL PLAINS BEDROCK AND STEEP SLOPES relatively impermeable metamorphic rocks rising to heights of (South of New York City) (New York City and North) 35 m. In addition, most of the surface in the New York-New A. Jersey Metropolitan Area has been paved over with structures, roads, and streets. This makes for a very short lag time in heavy rainfall. The flooding problem is amplified because New York, as well as many older cities in the NE, have combined teĘĘm (sanitary and storm) sewer systems. Heavy rainfall causes both street runoff and raw sewage to be released into adjacent waterways. When a hurricane is imminent, there is a great concern WaterteĘĘm grains «roi«« onH Water flow Is restrictedIr to widely-9 about the extent of saltwater (storm surge) flooding. In the Water ? «roi«« grains 1 onH spaced rock structures. Runoff is infiltration, rather than runoff j favored and flash flooding is greater New York-New Jersey area, concern about fresh- occurs. Flooding is less prevalent more common water flooding should be considered, as well. A hurricane eye Figure 16. Detailed views of changes in the Wards-Randall can be 100island km away,areas butas high convection centers on the rain shown on USGS topographic maps. (A) 1897, (B) 1943, (C) bands 1956, (Coch, (D) 1966. 2012), (E) which may cause heavy, overland, Aerial view of the area today. (Color for this figure is available in the online freshwater flow for hours before the hurricane makes version of this paper.) landfall. It is essential to have an effective stormwater
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Figure 17. Geologic sections showing the differences in infiltration and runoff in (A) gently sloping coastal plains south of New York City, and (B) Bedrock and steep slopes in New York City and New England. (Color for this figure is available in the online version of this paper.)
collection in the high-bedrock CONCLUSIONS areas of New York City to minimize freshwater Detailedflooding. surface mapping and examination of historical records have shown how sedimentation in urban, rock-bound, estuary-tidal straits responds to channel changes and landfill operations that reduce the tidal prism. In addition, this study helps explain the landward origin of coarse facies, found in another study (Coch, 2016), in the northern part of New York Hudson River J Mixtures been shown not to have a Hudson River or an Atlantic Ocean origin. The only remaining possibility is that it was transported i I Hudson and down the Harlem and East rivers. The problem is that there are V ' f sediments jl no tributaries today that could supply sediment to that waterway. I w' Shelf gravelly sands ^ Examination of the historical record suggests a solution to 't'>^ and sands ' that quandary. In the past, coarse sediment, from crystalline rocks in Westchester and present-day New York City, was transported into the Harlem River-East River system by relict streams. Colonial maps show many streams draining Manhattan. Tibbetts Brook formerly drained the West- chester area into the Harlem River, which continued until Figure 18. Present view of sediment sources for New York Harbor. (Color for this figure is available in thethe construction online of the Harlem version Ship Canal in of1900. Thatthis paper.) construction, plus the filling in of Tibbetts Brook, cut off Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 33, No. 2, 2017 This content downloaded from 86.59.13.237 on Thu, 08 Jul 2021 11:15:04 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Anthropogenic Change and Sedimentation in New York Tidal Straits 285 supply of coarse crystalline sediment into themodern-day Harlem-East Tibbetts Brook were supplied by John Craven. river complex. Relict deposits of this sand exist Our special today thanks in the to all the Queens College geology majors Harlem River. Another major source of crystalline who staffed sediment our cruises for two decades and made this from the Bronx and Westchester was from the now-extinct research possible. "Jerome Creek." Yankee Stadium is located on the delta plain of that former waterway. The southward diversion of LITERATURE CITED the delta spit of Jerome Creek suggests that the net Blumberg, drift of A.F. and Pritchard, D.W., 1997. Estimates of the transport Harlem River sediment was southward toward the East through the East River, New York. Journal of Geophysical River. Land extension at Wards and Randalls islands cut off Research, 102(C3), 5685-5703. Bowman, M.J., 1976. The tides of the East River, New York. Journal most of the Harlem River tidal exchange with Long Island of Geophysical Research, 81(9), 1609-1616. Sound in the 20th Century and resulted in the joining of Coch, the N.K., 2012. Hurricane Irene (2011): A hydrological disaster for two islands and deposition of fine-sediment facies between the northeast U.S. Professional Geologist, 49(5), 47-51. the Harlem and East rivers. Coch, N.K., 2014. Hurricane Sandy inland water damage in the New The mass of coarse sediment at the north end of New York York-New Jersey metropolitan region: A new perspective on the nature of urban flooding in the northeast United States. Profes- Harbor is essentially a relict tidal delta formed before the sional Geologist, 51(2), 42-46. construction of the Harlem Ship Canal in 1897. Recent Coch, N.K., 2016. Sediment dynamics in the upper and lower Bays of mapping (Coch, 2016) has shown that tidal currents are now New York Harbor. Journal of Coastal Research, 32(4), 756-767. reworking this coarse material and moving it up estuary along Jay, D.A. and Bowman, M.J., 1975. The Physical Oceanography and Water Quality of New York Harbor and Western Long Island the eastern side of the Hudson, at least as far as the George Sound. Springfield, Virginia: National Technical Information Washington Bridge. Service, Technical Report PB-259 632, 23p. The almost complete elimination of streams in the greater Fluhr, G.J., 1960. The Historical Geography of the West Bronx. New New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area has greatly York: Aidan Press. increased the danger of freshwater flooding in major Hardy, C.D., 1971. Movement and Quality of Long Island Sound Waters. New York: Marine Sciences Research Center, State Nor'easters and hurricanes. It is essential that effective University of New York Technical Report, 17p. stormwater collection systems be developed to drain ISC the (Interstate Sanitation Commission), 1971. 1970 Report of the high areas of relatively impermeable bedrock in New Interstate York Sanitation Commission on the Water Pollution Control City. Activities and the Interstate Air Pollution Program. Technical Report This study has added new information on the effects of Submitted to the Governors and Legislatures of the States of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut: ISC, 86p. anthropogenic shoreline changes accompanying urbanization Klingbeil, A.D., 2003. Late Holocene Evolution of the Subtidal Mud of an urban estuary, providing a more accurate picture of the Shoals System in the Lower Hudson Estuary. Newark, Delaware: sediment sources for New York Harbor (Figure 18). University of Delaware, Master's thesis, 146p. Landeck-Miller, R.E.; Farley, K.J.; Wands, J.R.; Santore, R.; Redman, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A.D., and Kim, N.B., 2011. Fate and transport modeling of sediment contaminants in the New York/New Jersey Harbor Captain Wally Van Horn, of the R.V. Atlantic Twin , Estuary. Urban Habitats, 6. skillfully maneuvered our research vessel in the turbulent Marmer, H.A., 1935. Tides and Currents in New York Harbor. waters of the East River and enabled us to achieve all our Washington, D.C.: U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 4, lllp. research goals. Oceanographic Technician Daniel Bolles Roberts, S., 2011. 200th birthday for the map that made New York. New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/nyregion/ was crucial in supervising sampling operations. Ship 2 lgrid.html?_r=l . sampling and laboratory operations were carried out by Schuberth, C.J., 1968. The Geology of New York City and Environs. Albert Longoria, Kathy Tonnies, and Karen Barton Skipper. New York: The Natural History Press, pp. 182-214. Richard Krauser triggered this study when he informed the Tavolaro, J., 1989. Sedimentology of the Upper East River - An Urban senior author that he had sampled sand, not silt, in the Tidal Strait. Flushing, New York: Queens College (CUNY), Master's thesis, 218p. Harlem River ( personal communication). John Tavalero USGS (U.S. Geologic Survey), 1897. Historical Geology Sheet - supplied information on sedimentation in the westernmost Harlem Quadrangle, Harlem, New York. Reston, Virginia: USGS, portion of Long Island Sound. Information on and images of scale 1:62500, 1 sheet. Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 33, No. 2, 2017 This content downloaded from 86.59.13.237 on Thu, 08 Jul 2021 11:15:04 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms