56 



material (Eller and Williams 1996). In August 1993, efforts to establish a third reference 

 area at WLIS led to the acceptance of SW-REF (40°58.688' N, 73°29.909' W) as a 

 permanent replacement for WLIS-REF (Charles and Tufts 1996). 



During the 1996 REMOTS® survey, photographs collected over the WLIS reference 

 areas indicated the presence of ambient sediments at SW-REF and SOUTH, as well as 

 dark, reduced sediments and methane gas pockets (indicative of dredged material 

 deposition) at 2000W. 



Reference area 2000W lies within the boundaries of the historic Stamford Disposal 

 Site and has been utilized for sediment and benthic habitat comparison with the material 

 deposited at WLIS since 1987. Although not directly linked to recent (1982 to present) 

 dredged material deposition, conditions indicative of anthropogenic activity have been 

 detected during REMOTS® surveys in 1991 and 1992 (Eller and Williams 1996; Figure 4- 

 4). The July 1996 survey found darker and finer grained sediments at 2000W relative to 

 SOUTH and SW-REF stations. Although the majority of replicate photographs obtained 

 over 2000W display a well-defined RPD and Stage I or Stage I on III benthic infaunal 

 community, data collected at ST A 1 and STA 4 raise questions concerning the validity of 

 this reference area. 



High boundary roughness measurements, no discernible RPD, successional stage 

 classifications of indeterminate or azoic, and correspondingly low OSI values were 

 detected in one replicate of STA 1 and two replicates of STA 4 at 2000W. These 

 conditions could be attributable to recent physical disturbances at the sediment-water 

 interface (i.e., trawling, dragging of lobster gear across the bottom, etc.). However, the 

 dark appearance of the subsurface sediments, the presence of methane gas, and the 

 questionable history of the reference area suggest the poor benthic conditions could be due 

 to chronic problems below the penetration limit of the REMOTS® camera. 



Without detailed physical and chemical analysis of the 2000W sediments through 

 comprehensive grab sampling and geotechnical coring, a definitive cause for the poor 

 benthic conditions will not be found. Despite this lack of data, visual comparisons 

 between the three reference areas show that portions of 2000W presently do not reflect the 

 benthic conditions displayed in ambient western Long Island Sound sediments. To date, a 

 total of three WLIS reference areas (EAST, WLIS-REF, and 2000S) have been abandoned 

 due to the presence of dredged material. The same course of action is recommended for 

 2000W, with a replacement reference area being delineated to the southeast of WLIS, 

 away from present and historic disposal activity. 



The discovery of a thin layer of reduced material over oxidized sediments in one 

 replicate of STA 8 may also be attributed to dredged material disposal in the region. It is 

 possible that a small amount of disposal barge spillage had occurred over reference area 

 SOUTH during the final phase of deposition at the WDA 95 buoy position (WLIS H 



Monitoring Cruise at the Western Long Island Sound Disposal Site, July 1996 



