DENUDATION RATE OF CENTRAL NEW-ENGLAND DETERMINED FROM ESTUARINE SEDIMENTATION

The average sediment yield of central New England rivers over the past 8000 yr determined from the measured volume of marine sediment in the Sound is 4.2 x 103 kg/yr, the same as the present yield within the accuracy of the available data. The corresponding mean denudation rate is 1.0 x 102 kg/(m2yr). The denudation rate is low, because most streams in central New England flow over stabilized surfaces on erosion resistant materials. Bank erosion of glacial lake deposits is insensitive to land use practices and is responsible for the continuous, nearly constant sediment yield of the basin for the past 8000yr. The sedimentation rate in glacial Lake Hitchcock between 13 700 and 10 700yr b.p. was 3 times higher. -from Author