The Movement of Sewage Sludge From the New York Bight Dumpsite as Seen From Clostridium Perfringens Spore Densities

The spores of a fecal indicator, Clostridium perfringens, were used to trace the movement of sewage sludge from the New York Bight dumpsite. The highest spores densities were not at the dumpsite but rather in the Christiaensen Basin to its immediate west. The spore densities in the sediments extending from the Basin northwest to northeast towards the Long Island coast decreased exponentially to where the water was about 18 meters deep. Thereafter, the spore densities became relatively constant, presumably because of sewage particles settling out of polluted water masses emerging from the embayments and ocean outfalls along the coast. Most of the sludge is translocated to the southeast along the course of the Hudson Shelf Valley, wherein the spore densities also decreased exponentially but at a lower rate. Elevated spore densities were detected to a distance of at least 105 km along its course.