A deglacial chronology for northern New England has been formulated using an atmospheric 14 C calibration of the New England Varve Chronology and paleomagnetic records. This 14 C chronology is based on 14 C ages from macrofossils of non-aquatic plants and is about 1 500 yr younger than existing chronologies that are based primarily on 14 C ages of bulk organic samples. The lower and upper Connecticut Valley varve sequences of Ernst Antevs (NE varves 2 701-6 352 and 6 601-8 500) overlap (lower 6 012 = upper 6 601) based on their crudely matching varve records and their similar paleomagnetic records. Three 14 C ages at Canoe Brook, Vermont (NE varve 6 150 = 12.3 14C ka) calibrate the lower Con necticut Valley sequence. New AMS and con ventional 14 C ages on woody twigs from Newbury, Vermont calibrate the upper se quence from 11.6-10.4 14 C ka (NE varves 7 440-8 660) and are consistent with the over lapping varve and paleomagnetic records, and the Canoe Brook 14 C ages. Deglaciation of the Connecticut Valley in southern Vermont began at 12.6 14 C ka (15.2 cal ka) and the Littleton-Bethlehem Readvance in northern New Hampshire and Vermont reached its maximum at11.9-11.8 14 C ka (14.0-13.9 cal ka) followed by recession of ice into Québec at about 11.5 14 C ka (13.4 cal ka). A lake persisted in the upper Connecticut Valley until at least 10.4 14 C ka (12.3 cal ka) and may have been seen by the first humans in the area.

Assessments of coupled barrier island-estuary storm response are rare. Hurricane Sandy made landfall during an investigation in Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary that included water quality monitoring, geomorphologic characterization, and numerical modeling; this provided an opportunity to characterize the storm response of the barrier island-estuary system. Barrier island morphologic response was characterized by significant changes in shoreline position, dune elevation, and beach volume; morphologic changes within the estuary were less dramatic with a net gain of only 200,000 m 3 of sediment. When observed, estuarine deposition was adjacent to the back-barrier shoreline or collocated with maximum estuary depths. Estuarine sedimentologic changes correlated well with bed shear stresses derived from numerically simulated storm conditions, suggesting that change is linked to winnowing from elevated storm-related wave-current interactions rather than deposition. Rapid storm-related changes in estuarine water level, turbidity, and salinity were coincident with minima in island and estuarine widths, which may have influenced the location of two barrier island breaches. Barrier-estuary connectivity, or the transport of sediment from barrier island to estuary, was influenced by barrier island land use and width. Coupled assessments like this one provide critical information about storm-related coastal and estuarine sediment transport that may not be evident from investigations that consider only one component of the coastal system.

No abstract

For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprodTo order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report.Suggested citation: Baker, R.J., Wieben, C.M., Lathrop, R.G., and Nicholson, R.S., 2014, Concentrations, loads, and yields of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor watershed, New Jersey, 1989Jersey, -2011 AbstractConcentrations, loads, and yields of nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus) were calculated for the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor (BB-LEH) watershed for 1989-2011 at annual and seasonal (growing and nongrowing) time scales. Concentrations, loads, and yields were calculated at three spatial scales: for each of the 81 subbasins specified by 14-digit hydrologic unit codes (HUC-14s); for each of the three BB-LEH watershed segments, which coincide with segmentation of the BB-LEH estuary; and for the entire BB-LEH watershed. Base-flow and runoff values were calculated separately and were combined to provide total values.Available surface-water-quality data for all streams in the BB-LEH watershed for 1980-2011 were compiled from existing datasets and quality assured. Precipitation and streamflow data were used to distinguish between water-quality samples that were collected during base-flow conditions and those that were collected during runoff conditions. Base-flow separation of hydrographs of six streams in the BB-LEH watershed indicated that base flow accounts for about 72 to 94 percent of total flow in streams in the watershed.Base-flow mean concentrations (BMCs) of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) for each HUC-14 subbasin were calculated from relations between land use and measured base-flow concentrations. These relations were developed from multiple linear regression models determined from water-quality data collected at sampling stations in the BB-LEH watershed under base-flow conditions and land-use percentages in the contributing drainage basins. The total watershed base-flow volume was estimated for each year and season from continuous streamflow records for and relations between precipitation and streamflow during base-flow conditions. For each year and season, the base-flow load and yield were then calculated for each HUC-14 subbasin from the BMCs, total base-flow volume, and drainage area.The watershed-loading application PLOAD was used to calculate runoff concentrations, loads, and yields of TN and TP at the HUC-14 scale. Flow-weight...

No abstract