Suspended sediment transport in the benthic nepheloid layer in southeastern Lake Michigan

Abstract

Time series observations of water temperature, water transparency, and current velocity were made at four stations located on the lake slope of southeastern Lake Michigan. The observations show that during stratified conditions the benthic nepheloid layer is probably not maintained by the local resuspension of bottom sediment. A more likely source is sediment resuspended further inshore and then transported across the shelf and slope during downwelling events. Internal wave action may be an important source of energy for this transport. Although sediment trap studies suggest that resuspension does occur, it is more likely that increased fluxes observed near the bottom are due to the vertical redistribution of material already in suspension. A benthic nepheloid layer also exists at times during the unstratified period, when occassionally enough energy reaches the bottom to directly resuspend bottom material at the sites.