Analysis of sediment samples for USEPA Region IV: Science and Ecosystem Support Division Homestead Military Canal project.

Abstract

This report describes a project in which the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region IV, Science and Ecosystem Support Division, collected samples in the Military Canal area of Homestead, Florida, in November of 1997. The collection was part of an effort to identify the presence and degree of any chemical contamination in the area. For interpretation of sediment chemical data, normalizing parameters are generally requried to account for the heterogeneous nature of many sediment deposits. Accordingly, the USEPA requested Mote Marine Laboratory (MML) to perform determinations of percent moisture and percent organics. Additionally, sediment grain size distributions were measured by optical methods on both the raw sample and on a fraction from which organic matter had been removed, with the size distribution of organic material computed by difference. Results of the study are recorded and summarized.