The purpose of this survey is to assess the recovery of submerged aquatic vegetation in the cap area and also to assess the movement of cap material one year after the capping operation.
Peninsula Harbour is located on the northern shore of Lake Superior near the Town of Marathon in Ontario Canada. Historical industrial operations at the Marathon Pulp Inc. site resulted in mercury and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in Peninsula Harbour. To reduce ecological risk to the aquatic biota and to expedite ecological recovery of the area, 15 to 20 cm of clean sand was placed on top of contaminated sediments in Jellicoe Cove in Summer 2012.
In September and October 2012, a submerged aquatic vegetation and cap movement study was conducted to establish the baseline conditions. The baseline conditions are for use in assessment of the recovery of submerged aquatic vegetation and the movement of cap material. Information is to be collected in 2013 for comparison with the 2012 baseline conditions.
