USGS Studies in Long Island Sound:
Geology, Contaminants, and Environmental Issues

Photographs of the sea floor are very useful to evaluate sea-floor variability, faunal communities, and sedimentary processes. These photographs also document bedrock outcrops, boulder fields, and coarse, gravelly areas where statistically meaningful samples cannot be collected.

Figure 1. Sea anenomes attached to the surface of a boulder. Rough surfaces, such as these, produce habitat complexity for small organisms.

Figure 2. A polychaete worm (Nereis virens) normally lives in tubes within the sea floor, but crawls to the surface during spawning.

Biological Habitats

Link to data on Biological Habitats in USGS Open-File Report 00-304.

Figure 3. Shell bed in eastern Long Island Sound. Shell beds indicate environments of sorting or reworking, and they provide a critical habitat for young fish (note the small skate).

Sedimentary Environments

Link to data on Sedimentary Environments in USGS Open-File Report 00-304.