Us???• How did WE form?

• The earth…continent…US…NY…Long Island…Atlantic Ocean…Long Island Sound

Formation of The Atlantic Coast of North America

• Break-up of Pangea (180 mya)• Formation of Atlantic Ocean• Erosion of Appalachian Mountains

Fig. 1-18, G

PANGEA (the super continent)

Formation of The Atlantic Coast of North America

• 180 million yrs. ago – all continents were attached together and have slowly moved apart over time

• Discovered (S. F. Bacon, 1600’s) “Coasts of continents fit together like a puzzle.”• Lead to theory of continental drift and plate tectonics.

fnft

Pangea (reptile fossils)

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Fig. 3-4, G

Formation of Long Island

• River erosion carving out the coastal plain to form Long Island Sound Basin (<3 mya)

• Glaciers reshaped the area (beginning 3 mya)

• The last ice advance (Wisconsinan) ended about 21,000 years ago - deposited terminal moraine in middle of Long Island

• Recessional moraines (along North Shore) were left as glacier receded

Formation of Long Island Sound

• Glacial Lake Connecticut, which drained (15,000 years ago)

• Sea-level rose and ocean entered Long Island Sound Basin

• Sea-level rise slowed and marshes began to develop along the margins of the estuary (5,000 - 3,000 years ago)– became what we know as the Long

Island Sound

The Formation of Glacial-Marine Sediments

Fnft Ice Rafting

Glaciers form land and alter sedimentation

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Waterbodies of Long Island• East River, Atlantic Ocean• 3 South Shore “Bays:” Great South Bay, Moriches & Shinnecock• “Fork Bays:” The Peconics (& others)• Inputs from Rivers (Conn. + LI)• Long Island Sound

If time permits

• 2 “Waterbody” Case Studies• LIS• Shinnecock Bay

Long Island Sound• Important economically and recreationally• 8 million people in watershed, 21 million w/i 50 mile radius “impact

area!”• Local residents are the main contributors to the Sound’s

degradation– runoff from lawn fertilizing leads to increased nutrients and

hypoxia– pathogens enter the food web of the Sound through poor

sewage treatment & pet wastes– improper garbage disposal leads to floatable debris

Long Island Sound

• 110 miles long (from East River to the Race)

• 21 miles wide (Conn. River)• 60-300’ deep (thus SHALLOW - average

= 65’; Statue of Liberty is 151’!) • temp. 32-75 degrees F• 1300 square miles• Estuary with two openings to the ocean• 1200 invertebrate and 170 fish species

associated (w/ mammals/birds too!)

Long Island Sound

• Estuary w/ “salt” water from Atlantic Ocean and 90% of “fresh” water from 3 rivers (Thames, Housatonic, Connecticut) w/ remaining 10% from LI Rivers and groundwater/other sources

• Semidiurnal tides influence salinity• Local major Carbon dioxide “sponge” on

North Shore• Local area of interest: Port Jefferson

Harbor

Port Jefferson

2009

Drowned Meadows 1800’s

The Village of Port Jefferson 2009

Montauk…the end? (What about the RACE?)

The “Race”

• (Remember) LIS is 110 miles long (from East River to the Race)

• Narrowest, Eastern, water entry pt. from Ocean

• Current = 5 knots; thus if you go through at “Fair Tide” (when currents move to right) you can go 4 knots but if you try to head windward you go BACKWARDS 1 knot (that’s how powerful water moves through skinny area)

• 25 billion gallons/daily funnel through thus 350’ deep (deepest LIS pt.)

Local Case Study

• Shinnecock Bay

Where is Shinnecock Bay?• Shinnecock Bay is located on the South Shore of Long Island, NY (i.e. the “Hamptons” and

Quogue). • It is about 75 miles east of New York City

• Shinnecock Bay is about 9,000 acres including open water, salt marshes, intertidal flats, and barrier beaches.

• This boundary encloses a significant habitat for fish and shellfish, migrating and wintering waterfowl, colonial nesting water birds, beach-nesting birds, migratory shorebirds, raptors, and rare plants

Where???

High Tide

Low Tide

Average depths/characteristics• The western portion of the bay are an average depth of about 2 meters (6 feet) or

less; the eastern portions of the bay are about 3 meters in depth.• The shallow waters are very highly productive; the most productive areas are the

mudflats, and the salt marshes.• The deeper water habitats are mainly composed of eel grass and sandy shoals; the

eel grass beds provide an excellent habitat for many species (offering cover and also a nursery for these organisms).

The organisms• There are many species in or around Shinnecock Bay that are federally listed as

threatened or endangered.• Some of which include:

The Piping Plover

The Least Tern

The Common Tern

Sea Beach Amaranth

More organisms• Some animals found around Shinnecock Bay which are not endangered or

threatened include:

The Horseshoe Crab

Oyster Catchers

Willets

The Semipalmated Plover

Where does all the water come from?

• On the east of the Bay there is an inlet (an inlet can be defined as an indentation of a shoreline, usually long and narrow).

• This inlet is connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

Where did the inlet come from?• In 1938 there was a large hurricane (Category 3) and the inlet was created by the

storm surge.• The storm surge carved out a large section of the barrier island separating

Shinnecock Bay from the Atlantic Ocean.

June 30th 1938 (before the hurricane), no inlet

September 24th 1938 (after the hurricane), large inlet

Recent image of the inlet, visible jetties

Ponquogue Bridge, Shinnecock Bay

• Since Shinnecock Bay is in the Northeast United States, it has semidiurnal tides (two high tides and two low tides each lunar day).

• The highest tide at this location is 2.8 feet

• The lowest tide is 0 feet

• The tide takes longer to get to the further parts of the bay. This is why there are different times of high and low tides for the different locations in the bay.