Effect of Extreme Weather Events on the Sedimentation of the Bay of Samaná, Dominican Republic (1900–2016)

Abstract

The Bay of Samaná, formed by tectonism and sedimentation, is delimited to the north by the peninsula of the same name, to the south by the north slope of the Eastern Mountain Range and Los Haitises National Park, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west by the ancient Gran Estero, today the Lower Yuna. There follows a process of continuous degradation by the existing tectonic forces and the sediment contributions by the Yuna, Yabón, and La Yeguada rivers to the south as well as by the landslides of the mountainous area of the Samaná Peninsula, during periods of storms and hurricanes. The coastal area of Samaná Bay has altered by 2.17 km2 at the mouth of the Yuna River from 2003–2015. The high turbidity level has affected coral reefs and marine species.  The  mangroves  are  lost  faster  than  they  are  regenerated  by  the  coastline’s change. Variations in the elemental compositions of calcium and iron show the terrigenous influence on the dynamics of the bay during Extreme Weather Events (EWP) in the river basins that flow into it. Abrupt changes in the rainfall regime produced an equal change in the estuary sedimentation regime, according to the 210Pb. In the 2007–2016 period, a column of sediment that reached 38 cm and a 12 cm to 8.4 km column were deposited 4 km southeast of the municipality of Sánchez and east of the mouth of the Yuna River. The Sedimentary Accumulation Rate is very high, and
 the content of heavy metals exceeds the threshold values of Table SQuirt.

Integrated modeling of hydrosedimentological processes for port resilience and environmental assessment for decision-making: Case study of the Paraíba do Sul River, Brazil

“…The influence of heavy rains and flow variations in rivers has a direct impact on port infrastructure due to siltation, highlighting dredging as an essential practice to preserve the depth of navigation channels and, consequently, the ability to receive ships of great draft. Effective sediment management, including regular dredging, is critical to maintaining port operations, taking into account the environmental effects of these activities [44].…”

Geochemistry and Heavy Metal Levels in the Sediments of the Port of Santa Bárbara de Samana, Dominican Republic

“…While in the core C3 both have the same tendency. These changes are related to temporary meteorological events (Delanoy et al, 2019).…”

“…The figure on the left shows the changes occur at the same calcium and iron depths as the LOI. This occurs at 26 cm during storms Noel and Olga, 2007; 32 cm during Hurricane Jeanne, 2004; 43 cm Hurricane Klaus, 1990 (Delanoy et al, 2019).…”