Physical System Dynamics and White Phosphorus Fate and Transport, 1994, Eagle River Flats, Fort Richardson, Alaska

• Main Authors: Lawson, Daniel E., Hunter, Lewis E., Bigl, Susan R., Nadeau, Beth M., Weyrick, Patricia B.
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1996
• Subjects: Water Pollution and Control; Hydrology; Limnology and Potamology; *WATER POLLUTION; *ESTUARIES; *WHITE PHOSPHORUS; TEMPERATURE; WATER FLOW; ALASKA; OXYGEN; EROSION; RIVERS; CONTAMINATION; POLLUTION ABATEMENT; WETLANDS; SALINITY; SEDIMENTS; CHEMICAL ANALYSIS; PH FACTOR; ARTILLERY; SEDIMENTATION; TIDES; TURBIDITY; SALT MARSHES; EAGLE FLATS(ALASKA); FORT RICHARDSON(ALASKA); Subarctic; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA317624; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA317624

Eagle River Flats (ERF) is a subarctic estuarine salt marsh where human and natural forces are causing significant changes in the environment. Multiple internal and external forces govern the physical and chemical processes by actively altering surface conditions, sometimes in unpredictable ways. ERF is also used as an artillery range by the U.S. Army, where past use has resulted in white phosphorous (WP) contamination of the sediments within ponds and mudflats. Bottom-feeding waterfowl ingest this WP, which causes rapid death. This report documents analyses of the physical environment, describing the nature of the physical systems and factors controlling them. It includes data on sedimentation, erosion and hydrology. These investigations provide knowledge necessary to designing and evaluating remedial technologies. They also help determine the system's capacity to naturally attenuate the WP contamination.