Table 2.2.1. Equipment used for hydrographic profile measurements. 
Parameter 
CTD or Sensor 
Salinity 
Sea-Bird Electronics SBE 9Plus 
Derived from conductivity (CTD) 
Temperature 
Sea-Bird Electronics SBE 9Plus 
Dissolved oxygen 
Sea-Bird Electronics SBE-43 sensor 
Chlorophyll-a fluorescence 
WET Labs WETStar fluorometer 
Transmissivity 
WET Labs C-Star transmissometer 
2.3 Biological and Sediment Sampling 
Sediment sampling was undertaken using a custom-designed Van Veen grab 
(Figure 2.3.1). The sampling device is composed of two 0.1-m 2 samplers, joined 
together in a single frame. The unit was 60 inches high, 42 inches in diameter and 
weighed 450 pounds with its full complement of four, 50-pound, stainless-steel weights. 
Sample material obtained by the grabs was used for analysis of macroinfaunal 
communities, concentration of sediment contaminants, % silt-clay, and organic-carbon 
content. Three grab samples were required at the majority of stations to acquire 
adequate sediment (approximately 2 L) for both benthic infauna (one grab) and 
chemistry sample processing. A grab sample was deemed successful when the grab 
unit was > 75% full (with no major slumping). The benthic samples were sieved 
onboard through 1.0-mm (WA and OR stations), or through nested 0.5-mm and 1.0-mm 
screens (CA stations), and preserved in 10% buffered formalin. Fauna from California 
stations retained in the 0.5-1.0 mm sieve fraction were processed as part of a 
supplemental study and are not considered in this report. Thus all benthic data reported 
here pertain to the > 1.0-mm fraction. 
2.3.1 Sediment Pollutant and Tissue Analysis 
Sediments and fish tissues were analyzed for a suite of organic pollutants and 
metals (Table 2.3.1) using analytical methods from the NOAA NS&T Program 
(Lauenstein and Cantillo 1993) or described in the EMAP Laboratory Methods Manual 
(U.S. EPA 1994). For all three states, 15 metals were analyzed in sediments and 13 
metals were analyzed in whole-body fish tissues. Antimony and manganese were 
analyzed in tissue samples from California and Washington. A total of 21 PCB 
congeners (PCBs), DDT and its primary metabolites, 14 chlorinated pesticides, and 23 
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in sediments from all three 
states (Table 2.3.1). The same suite of chlorinated compounds was analyzed in fish 
tissue except that hexachlorobenzene was not analyzed in samples from California. 
PAHs were measured in tissues from California and Washington and are not reported 
here. Total organic carbon and percent fines of the sediment were analyzed in samples 
from all sites. 
9 
