Sediment Textures

 Inner continental shelf sediment textures within western Massachusetts Bay classified using Barnhardt and others (1998). Bottom photographs A-D show sediment texture in select locations (photograph locations are shown as white dots on the sediment texture map). Grain size statistics are plotted as pie charts showing the relative percentages of gravel, sand, and mud. A, A photograph of the sea floor within an area classified as rock (R). No sample was recovered in this area due to large particle size. B, A photograph of a section of sea floor classified as primarily mud with sand (Ms). C, A photograph from a section of sea floor classified as primarily gravel with rock (Gr). No sample was recovered in this area due to large particle size. D. A photograph from a section of the sea floor classified as primarily sand and gravel with some mud. The viewing frame for photographs A–D is approximately 50 centimeters.