Agglomeration of fine-grained suspended sediment in Northern Chesapeake Bay

Abstract

Estuaries are ephemeral features on a geologic time-scale, being rapidly filled with sediments. Many scientists have attributed the rapid sedimentation that characterizes the upper reaches of estuaries to the agglomeration of river-borne sediment by flocculation. Determinations of the state of agglomeration of both suspended and bottom sediments of Chesapeake Bay suggest that agglomeration in the water column is an important factor in estuarine sedimentation, but there is little direct evidence that the agglomeration is produced by electrostatic flocculation. Preliminary experiments indicate that filter-feeding zooplankton may have a major role in the agglomeration and deposition of fine-grained particles.