Virginia Capes Range Complex Final Environmental Impact Statement

VACAPES Range Complex FEIS/OEISChapter 3 Affected Environment andEnvironmental Consequences3.1 – Bathymetry and SedimentsTABLE 3.1-1 (Continued)SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL STRESSORS TO BATHYMETRY AND SEDIMENTSWarfare Area and OperationTraining AreasMine WarfareDeployment andRecoveryNon-ExplosivePractice MunitionsUnderwaterDetonations and High-Explosive OrdnanceMilitary ExpendedMaterialsAmphibious Warfare (AMW)Firing exercise (FIREX) with IntegratedMaritime Portable Acoustic Scoring andSimulator System (IMPASS)Electronic Combat (EC)W-386 (7C/D, 8C/D), W-72(1C1/2) (Preferred Areas),W-386 (5C/D) (SecondaryAreas ) Chaff exercise - aircraftW-386, W-386 (Air-K),W-72 Chaff exercise - ship W-386, W-72 Flare exercise - aircraftElectronic combat (EC) operations - aircraftEC operations - shipTest and EvaluationShipboard Electronic Systems EvaluationFacility (SESEF) utilizationW-386, W-386 (Air-K),W-72 W-386 (Air-K)VACAPES OPAREAVACAPES OPAREA3.1.2.2 SedimentsThe sediments in the VACAPES Study Area are typical of the offshore to shelf-edge area, consisting offine quartz sand with a patchy veneer of shells (DoN, 2002). Sediment texture varies from gravel patchesand a fine sand mixture inshore, to medium sand offshore extending to the shelf edge (Reshetiloff, 2004;Kemp, et al., 2005).For the Lower Chesapeake Bay, the sediments consist of a sand and clay/silt mixture upstream of themouth and sand near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay (USGS, 2007).Sediment stability is the degree to which the sediment bed would be mixed or eroded based on thephysical characteristics of the sediments. If the stability is changed, natural processes such as wave action,or water flows could change the erosion or sediment deposition rates and then change the bathymetry ofthe area.3-4 March 2009