Variability of Sediment Observations Across the Sand-mud Inner Shelf Near Ocean City Inlet

Sediment samples were acquired along a cross-shore transect extending roughly 5 nautical miles offshore starting in 10 m water depth and ending in 17 m water depth near Ocean City Inlet, MD. Sediment sampling was repeated 3 times at 4 cross-shore stations during a series of cruises from May 2019 through July 2019. Diver push cores were logged, sectioned, and analyzed for grain size. A multibeam survey was conducted to map the bathymetry along the cross-shore transect. Additionally, regions around the sampling stations were surveyed with a side-scan sonar. Backscatter from the side-scan sonar correlates well with sediment observations. During one cruise in July 2019 water samples taken near the bed were analyzed with high-speed photogrammetry onboard the ship to estimate suspended sediments size and concentrations. Discussion will focus on understanding the hydrodynamic and geologic controls driving the strong sediment heterogeneity observed among the four stations along the cross-shore transect.