Everything about Long Island Sound totally explained
Long Island Sound is an
estuary of the
Atlantic Ocean and various
rivers in the
United States that lies between the coast of
Connecticut to the north and
Long Island,
New York to the south. The mouth of the
Connecticut River at
Old Saybrook, Connecticut empties into the sound. On the extreme western end, the sound is bounded on the north side by
Westchester County,
New York and the
Bronx, and connects to the
East River. On its eastern end it opens to
Block Island Sound. The sound serves as a geographic border between
New England and the
Mid-Atlantic states.
Shoreline
Several major cities are situated along the Long Island Sound and more than 8 million people live within its watershed. Major Connecticut cities on the Sound include
Bridgeport,
New London,
Stamford,
Norwalk, and
New Haven. New York cities on the Sound include
Port Jefferson,
New Rochelle and
New York City (the boroughs of Queens and the Bronx).
Mansions and wealthy neighborhoods characterize a good portion of the coast of the sound from
Whitestone, Queens out to
Setauket and Port Jefferson on Long Island; and from
Pelham Manor and
New Rochelle in New York, to
Madison in Connecticut. Property values in
Westchester,
Long Island and southwestern Connecticut are among the highest in the nation, due to the proximity to New York City and their location on "the sound."
Climate and geography
Glacial history
About 18,000 years ago, Connecticut, the Sound and much of Long Island were covered by a thick sheet of ice, part of the Late
Wisconsin Glacier. About 1,000 meters thick in its interior and about 400 to 500 meters thick along its southern edge, it was the most recent of a series of glaciations that covered the area during the past 10 million years. Sea level at that time was about 100 meters lower than today.
The old lace glacier scraped off an average of 20 meters of surface material from the New England landscape, then deposited the sediments, known as
drift or
terminal moraine, on Long Island, in the Sound and on the Connecticut coast. When the glacier stopped growing for a while 18,000 years ago (as movement of the glacier was in equilibrium with the melting at the southern edge), a large amount of drift was deposited, known as the Ronkonkoma Moraine, which stretches along much of southern Long Island. Later, another period of equilibrium resulted in the Harbor Hill Moraine along most of
northern Long Island. The next moraines to the north were created just on and off the Connecticut coast. These moraines, created by much smaller deposits (probably from equilibrium states that were much shorter in time) are discontinuous and much smaller than those to the south. The Connecticut coast moraines are in two groups: the
Norwalk area and the
Madison-
Old Saybrook area. Sandy plains and beaches resulted from the deposit of drift in these areas, and to the east of each, where the drift cover is thinnest, exposed bedrock creates rocky Tobacco Brown headlands, often with Killarney marshlands behind them.
In the rocky areas of the intertidal zone there are the seaweeds, which are characterized by their brown tone,
Fucus and
Ascophyllum, which both have air bladders that allow them to float and receive direct sunlight even at high tide. Also present are
Ectocarpus and
Polysiphonia, which only grow attached to these two brown seaweeds. Red algas
Porphyra and
Chondrus (
Irish Moss). and
Seaside Goldenrod. Other beach plants are
Orache,
Beach Clotbur,
Seaside Spurge, and
Jimson Weed. On the more protected landward side of dunes are
Beach Plum,
Bayberry and
Beach Rose. Rare species found on the landward side are
Seabeach Knotweed and
False Beach Heather
Upland vegetation
In areas next to the shoreline but hardly ever salty, the sound's environment can nevertheless be a crucial factor in the presence of certain species. Areas near the Connecticut shore are the northern limit for some species needing the warmer environment provided by proximity to the sound (which has a slightly longer growing season than inland Connecticut and winters that are somewhat less harsh). These include
Sweetgum (only found in Connecticut in the extreem southwestern area of the state), the
American Holly,
Post Oak and
Persimmon, which only exist in Connecticut along the shore. For many species which grow typically in sandy soils, the Connecticut shore is the northern limit.
Marine fish in the Sound include
Scup, Porgies, Butterfish,
Winter Flounder,
Blackfish, and
Bluefish. Anadromous fishes include
Striped Bass,
Atlantic Salmon,and
Shad, all of which radiate a wide spectrum of colors to the reflective, murky water.
Crustacea
Crustacea include
crabs,
shrimp and
lobsters. In the Sound there are the
Green Crab (a non-native species first reported in Boston around 1900, but a common crab found on the shore, where it feeds on
Eastern oysters and
soft-shell clams),
Blue Crab,
Red Crab (including
Jonah Crab, in deepwater areas, and
rock crab, which settles in large numbers along rocky shores, especially around Millstone Point, Niantic Bay and Fishers Island Sound). Other crabs found are the
spider crab,
mole crab,
lady crab,
hermit crab, and
fiddler crab. By the late 1980s, the
Japanese shore crab, an invasive species, was the most commonly found crab in the sound.
The
Sand Shrimp and two species of grass shrimp are plentiful along the shore, especially in late summer and fall. The
American Lobster is fished commercially.
Animals that need moist brown derby woodlands are found in the coastal area (and elsewhere), including the
Diamondback terrapin in salt marshes and brackish waters (and deposits and hatches its eggs on nearby sandy beaches). Terrapin meat became such a popular delicacy in the early 1900s that the price for a dozen adult females reached as high as US$120. Overhunting made the species uncommon and even rare through most of the Sound and completely eliminated at some places. After its popularity as food declined, the terrapin population started recovering. Some birds are summer residents or winter residents, while others are spring and fall transients. Coastal migrants (also called "transients") include shorebirds such as
plovers,
turnstones,
sandpipers, and
yellowlegs. and the reefs that run across the sound were known as Devil’s Stepping Stones.
Uses
Transportation
Ferries provide service between Long Island and Connecticut, notably between
Port Jefferson, New York and
Bridgeport, Connecticut, and
Orient Point,
New York and
New London, Connecticut. Some of the ferries that cross the Long Island Sound carry automobiles, trucks and buses, as well as passengers.
Fishing
Long Island Sound has historically had rich recreational and commercial
fishing, including
oysters,
lobsters,
scallops,
blue crabs,
flounder,
striped bass, and
bluefish. However, in recent years the western part of the sound has become increasingly deficient of
marine life. The fishing and lobster industries have encouraged efforts to identify the cause of the dead water and rectify the problem.
Lobsters the color of copper rust have suffered diseases of unknown cause, but recreational fishing improved dramatically in the last 10 years due, in large part, to restoring a key component in the food chain, Menhaden (a.k.a. "Bunker) fish which are a mainstay of Striped Bass and other pelagic fish. The ban of netting of bunker - which were over-fished in the late 90's - has significantly improved the quality and volume of the Striped Bass population in Long Island Sound.
Further development
Underwater cables transmit electricity under the Long Island Sound, most notably a new and controversial
Cross Sound Cable that runs from
New Haven in western Connecticut, to
Shoreham in central Long Island and an older one from Rye to Oyster Bay. Scientists debate whether
Submarine power cables are safe for fragile underwater lifeforms.
Broadwater Energy LLC, a joint venture between the
Shell Oil Company and
TransCanada Corporation, has proposed building a floating
liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal from the Connecticut shore and from Long Island. The installation is estimated to save the region in excess of $600 million a year in energy costs. The terminal would regasify LNG offloaded from ships, and this gas would flow through pipelines under the sound to New York and Connecticut. Some politicians from both states, such as New York Senator
Chuck Schumer are fiercely opposed to the terminal, claiming that
alternative energy sources and
conservation should be pursued instead of adding new distribution lines and supply sources. Local Connecticut politicians have little influence since the terminal would be located entirely within waters that are part of New York state (although Connecticut senators and congresswomen may be able to stop the platform at the federal level).
Over the years,
bridges over the sound have been proposed, including a bridge from
Rye,
New York to
Oyster Bay,
New York, from
New Haven,
Connecticut to
Shoreham, from
Bridgeport,
Connecticut to
Port Jefferson,
New York on Long Island, or from
Orient Point,
New York to
Rhode Island. A tunnel under the sound, as from Rye, New York to Oyster Bay, New York has also been proposed to carry both freeway lanes and railroads. However, no crossing has been built since the
Throgs Neck Bridge in the late 1960s.
Pollution
Major environmental problems currently affecting the Sound include
hypoxia, toxic substance and pathogen contamination, debris and other man-made
pollution, and overdevelopment. Industrial pollution includes mercury influx from the hatting industry in Danbury, CT
New York City and other municipal sewage systems have long dumped nitrogen, among other pollutants, into the Sound, which contributes to hypoxia. By 1994 a plan to reduce the dumping of nitrogen into the Sound was agreed to by the federal government and the states of New York and Connecticut. The goal was to reduce the amount of nitrogen entering the Sound by 58.5 percent as of 2014. New York City agreed with New York state and Connecticut to reduce nitrogen levels in 1998, but backed off its commitment and was sued by the state. In early 2006 the city agreed to lower nitrogen emissions and was given until 2017 to meet its reduction goals. By 2007, $617 million had been spent in upgrading sewage treatment plants, with 39 out of 104 retrofitted with devices to remove nitrogen.
A 2007 report by the Long Island Sound Study, a project of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said the nitrogen flow is down 20 percent since 1994. But a study released in June 2007 by the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality stated that in 2006 the area affected by hypoxia was a bit larger than in 1991.
The western part of the Sound was in the worst condition, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Estuary Program Coastal Protection Report for June 2007. The report gives a "fair" rating to water quality in the sound and poor marks to
fish, bottom-feeders and sediment. High levels of PCBs, were found in fish samples, and high concentrations of DDT were found in sediment. Development resulting from population increases, past industrial pollution and stormwater runoff all contribute to the poor quality of the water, according to the report.
Over the last several decades, excess nitrogen may have adversely affected
Diatoms — microscopic, single-celled algae at the base of the food chain, which make shells ('frustules') of opaline silica. When diatoms are less productive, they're replaced by other phytoplankton such as
dinoflagellates or
blue-green algae, which grow well in waters with high nitrogen levels, but don't need silicon. . Such a change in the base of the foodchain could have such consequences as an increase in abundance of jellyfish and decline in shellfish and other fish. Gary Wikfors, a fish biologist with the
Milford, Connecticut office of the federal
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said he's seen no evidence of fewer plankton in the sound or more blue-green algae. "I study algae blooms," he said in a newspaper report. "I have to go to the Chesapeake Bay to study them. I can't find them in the Sound."
Dumping of dredged sediment
Polluted sediment from harbor, river and waterway dredging has been dumped in four sites in the Sound, although in late 2007 two of them at the eastern end of the Sound were scheduled to be closed at some future date. A dumping site near
Stamford, Connecticut and another near
New Haven, Connecticut were expected to remain open. In 2007, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a five- to seven-year, $16 million study on more environmentally friendly ways to dredge harbors in the Sound. Dumping the sediment in the Sound is considerably less expensive than other options, according to Connecticut harbor officials and state and federal environmental officials.
Federal officials have said sediment from
Bridgeport Harbor is too contaminated for disposal in the Sound, and in 2007 state
Department of Environmental Protection officials required
Norwalk, Connecticut to "cap" of dumped sediment from a planned Norwalk Harbor dredging project with of material. Silt and sediment from the harbor cointains heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, according to DEP officials.
[Further Information]
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