A sediment cap of 400,000 m' was expected to fully cover the original MQR 

 mound, as well as the deposit of UDM originating from Black Rock Harbor. However, 

 complications in the disposal sequence during the 1982-83 disposal season caused two 

 barge loads of Black Rock Harbor UDM to be placed over the final CDM deposit, 

 resulting in a thin layer of UDM exposed at the sediment- water interface. From 1983 to 

 1992, the MQR mound had shown cycles of benthic habitat decline and slow recovery, 

 relative to other capped mounds at CLIS (Murray 1996). 



In response to the unexpected benthic conditions, supplemental capping material 

 was deposited over the MQR mound during the 1993-94 disposal season. An additional 

 65,000 m^ of CDM generated by several small dredging projects along the Coimecticut 

 coast was deposited at the CD A 93 buoy position (Figure 1-3; Morris and Tufts 1997). 

 The supplemental CDM collected over the center of MQR increased the mound height by 



1.5 m and improved benthic conditions. 



1.6 CLIS Reference Areas 



As part of the DAMOS monitoring protocols, reference area data are collected to 

 provide a baseline against which the results from the dredged material mounds are 

 compared. These areas are utilized due to their reflection of ambient conditions within the 

 central Long Island Sound region. On occasion, indications of natural (hypoxia) or 

 anthropogenic (trawling activity) disturbances are found within the confines of a CLIS 

 reference area. 



During the July 1996 survey, one replicate photograph collected over CLIS-REF 

 documented the presence of a limited quantity of dark, organically enriched sediment 

 within a 300 m radius of the central reference point. CLIS-REF has been used for 

 comparison with CLIS sediments since the inception of the DAMOS Program in 1977. 

 Due to the long history of use as a CLIS reference area, this disturbance warranted 

 considerable investigation. 



1.7 Objectives and Predictions 



The specific objectives of the July 1996 Central Long Island Sound seasonal 

 monitoring cruise were to 



• conduct a bathymetric survey capable of delineating the footprint of the new CLIS 

 95 mound while examining any topographic changes of the CLIS 94, NHAV 93, 

 and MQR mounds; and 



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



