different methods were employed in the present study to determine the concen- 
tration of cadmium, copper, iron, lead, and zinc in the nearshore due to the 
nourishment activities. Results showed that the levels of these metals never 
significantly exceeded background levels for seawater (Table 1). That these 
results do not parallel Rosenberg's (1977) is not surprising in that the 
drainage system that ultimately provided the sediments for this nourishment 
project did not contain significant anthropogenic sources for any of these 
metals. 
Table 1. Concentrations of cadmium, copper, iron, lead, and zinc 
in seawater using a Jarrell Ash Atom Comp (Inductively 
Coupled Argon Plasma Emmission Spectrometer), Perkins 
Elmer Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer with and 
without background correction. 
Jarrell Ash Atom Comp 
Nourishment 
Pipeline effluent 
(ug/2) 
<0.01 
<0.02 
Surf zone 
Nourished beach Comparison beach 
(ug/2) (ug/2) 
<0.01 <0.01 
<0.02 <0.02 
Iron 0.21 0.97 0.02 
Lead <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 
Zinc 0.03 0.06 <0.02 
with and without background correction 
[dene SM es ee 
Cadmium 
Cadmium 
Copper 
Copper 
Iron 
Lead 
Zinc 
Total suspended solids load in the nearshore water column was many times 
that of normal seawater (Table 2). A comparison of the water from the surf 
zone at Fort Macon with the water from the surf zone at Emerald Isle reveals 
that on two occasions when the solids were measured, the waters from the 
nourishment beach held at least an order of magnitude more suspended solids 
than those of the unnourished comparison beach. High loads of suspended solids 
have been implicated previously as a cause of larval death during dredging and 
disposal activities (Mileikovsky, 1970) and were likewise probably responsible 
for much of the adverse impact of the beach nourishment at Fort Macon. 
b. Biological Changes During Nourishment. The beach at Fort Macon was 
nourished gradually from the eastern end of the study area to the western end, 
Thus, at any given time during nourishment, the beach at Fort Macon could be 
divided into a nourished part and an unnourished part. Population data for 
33 
