Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Suffolk County Department of Health Services, and Town of Hempstead Estuarine Bed-Sediment-Quality Data Collected in New Jersey and New York after Hurricane Sandy, 2013 Data Series 905 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover. Photographs showing U.S. Geological Survey personnel collecting sediment samples off the coast of New Jersey and New York. Photographs by Irene Fisher (left) and Vicki Blazer (right), U.S. Geological Survey. Background: Natural-color image of Hurricane Sandy Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 13 captured at 1:45 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 28, 2012. (Courtesy of National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Estuarine Bed-Sediment-Quality Data Collected in New Jersey and New York after Hurricane Sandy, 2013 By Jeffrey M. Fischer, Patrick J. Phillips, Timothy J. Reilly, Michael J. Focazio, Keith A. Loftin, William M. Benzel, Daniel K. Jones, Kelly L. Smalling, Shawn C. Fisher, Irene J. Fisher, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Kristin M. Romanok, Darkus Jenkins, Luke Bowers, Adam Boehlke, William T. Foreman, Anna C. Deetz, Lisa G. Carper, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, and Justin Birdwell Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Suffolk County Department of Health Services, and Town of Hempstead Data Series 905 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2015 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Fischer, J.M., Phillips, P.J., Reilly, T.J., Focazio, M.J., Loftin, K.A., Benzel, W.M., Jones, D.K., Smalling, K.L., Fisher, S.C., Fisher, I.J., Iwanowicz, L.R., Romanok, K.M., Jenkins, D., Bowers, L., Boehlke, A., Foreman, W.T., Deetz, A.C., Carper, L.G., Imbrigiotta, T.E., and Birdwell, J., 2015, Estuarine bed-sediment-quality data collected in New Jersey and New York after Hurricane Sandy, 2013: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 905, 42 p., plus CD-ROM, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds905. ISSN 2327-638X (online) ISSN 2327-0271 (print) ISBN 978-1-4113-3879-1 iii Acknowledgments The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided sampling and analytical support. In particular, we thank John Kushwara, Branch Chief, EPA–Region 2 Monitoring Assessment Branch, Program Manager; Randy Braun, Section Chief, EPA–Region 2 Monitoring Assessment Branch, Field Logistics Coordinator; Carol Lynes, Air and Water Quality Assurance Team Leader, EPA–Region 2 Monitoring Assessment Branch, Quality Assurance Officer; Darvene Adams, Regional Monitoring Coordinator, EPA–Region 2 Monitoring Operations Section, Project Officer and Technical Lead; and Stephen Hale, EPA–Region 2 Monitoring Assessment Branch, Vessel Captain. We thank the many agencies and researchers we consulted on study design, and those who provided information that will assist in interpreting collected data—in particular: Lorraine Holdridge, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Gary Buchanan, Steve Anderson, Sherry Driber, Angela Witcher, and Michael DiGiore, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Jim Browne and Ron Masters,Town of Hempstead, New York; Michael Jensen, Mark Long, Shawn Droskoski, and Alison Branco, Suffolk County Department of Health Services, New York; Bruce Brownawell and Park Ng, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York; and Caitlyn Nichols, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. Marc B. Cox, from the University of Texas at El Paso, kindly provided the yeast strains used for the chemiluminescent assays. The authors gratefully acknowledge the many USGS employees who dedicated time and resources to this project. We thank Anthony D. Cerruti, Kaitlyn Colella, Jonathan Cohl, Heather A. Heckathorn, and Molly L. Schreiner for the collection of sediment samples. Special thanks are due to Eric W. Best, Patrick W. Bowen, Karl M. Braun, Heidi L. Hoppe, Michal J. Niemoczynski, Jason C. Shvanda, Daniel D. Skulski, and John J. Trainor for providing field support and assistance with sampling. We also thank Alex R. Fiore and Christopher L. Leach for assisting with the literature search. We are grateful for the timely and thorough reviews of this report by Ronald J. Baker, Kathy Lee, and Kara Ng. We also thank Nathan Wood for providing the inundated businesses dataset, and Dale L. Simmons, Ruth M. Larkins, and Denis K. Sun for their assistance with editing, illustrations, layout, and publishing. iv Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................iii Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 Study Objectives and Purpose and Scope of Report ......................................................................3 Study Area..............................................................................................................................................3 Previous Studies ...................................................................................................................................3 Literature Search .........................................................................................................................4 Data Retrieval ..............................................................................................................................4 Methods ..........................................................................................................................................................6 Site Selection.........................................................................................................................................6 Site Characterization from Geographic Information .......................................................................6 Data Sources used for Site Characterization .......................................................................14 National Land Cover Dataset .........................................................................................14 Inundated Businesses ....................................................................................................14 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Spill Database .......14 Bulk Storage Facilities .....................................................................................................14 Combined and Storm-Sewer Outfalls and Sewage-Treatment Plants ....................15 Sample Collection ...............................................................................................................................15 Analytical Methods.............................................................................................................................16 Particle-Size Analysis ...............................................................................................................16 Total Organic Carbon .................................................................................................................17 Metals and Trace Elements ......................................................................................................17 Semivolatile Organic Compounds ...........................................................................................17 Wastewater Compounds ..........................................................................................................17 Steroid Hormones ......................................................................................................................17 Sediment Toxicity .......................................................................................................................18 Screening Methods ...................................................................................................................18 Field-Portable Spectroscopy ..........................................................................................19 X-Ray Fluorescence ................................................................................................19