ABSTRACT 



The entrance of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean in the 

 vicinity o£ Cape Charles and Cape Henry were surveyed to study the 

 bottom morphology and sediments, and subbottom structure, in an effort 

 to locate suitable sand deposits in volumes great enough to economi- 

 cally restore and periodically nourish the shore. Seismic reflection 

 profiles and sediment cores were the basis for the study. Field and 

 laboratory techniques used for the profiles and sediment obtained from 

 the sea floor in lower bay and ocean are presented. Most of the study 

 area is less than 35 feet deep; distribution of shallow bay and inshore 

 terraces and deeper water are shown in the figures. The study included 

 analyses of borings taken along the route of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge 

 Tunnel by the Bridge Commission in 1960 and 1961. Cores obtained for a 

 dredging study by the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers, 1970, were 

 made available and were used in the study. 



FOREWORD 



This report is one of a series which will describe results of the 

 CERC Inner Continental Shelf Sediment and Structure (ICONS) Study, pre- 

 viously referred to as the Sand Inventory Program. 



Edward P. Meisburger, a CERC geologist, prepared the report under 

 the direction and supervision of Dr. David B. Duane, Chief of the 

 Geology Branch. As part of the research program of the Engineering 

 Development Division the ICONS Study is under the general supervision 

 of Mr. George M. Watts, Chief of the Division. The field work for the 

 study was done by National Engineering Science Company (NESCO) under 

 contract (DACW 65-68-0001) funded by CERC but awarded and administered 

 by the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers. 



Cores taken during the field program are stored at the Smithsonian 

 Institution Oceanographic Sorting Center (SOSC) , Washington, D. C. 20390, 

 Microfilm of the seismic profiles, the 1:80,000 navigational plots, and 

 other ancillary data are stored at the National Oceanographic Data Cen- 

 ter (NODC) , Rockville, Maryland 20852. Requests for information rela- 

 tive to these items should be directed to SOSC or NODC. 



At the time of publication Lieutenant Colonel Don S. McCoy was 

 Director of CERC; Thomdike Saville, Jr. was Technical Director. 



NOTE: Comments on this publication are invited. Discussion will be 

 published in the next issue of the CERC Bulletin. 



This report is published under authority of Public Law 166, 79th 

 Congress, approved July 31, 1945, as supplemented by Public Law 172, 

 88th Congress, approved November 7, 1963. 



