Salem, MA, located north of Boston, has a rich, well-documented history dating back to settlement in 1626 ce, but the associated anthropogenic impacts on Salem Sound are poorly constrained. This project utilized dated sediment cores from the sound to assess the proxy record of anthropogenic alterations to the system and compared the proxy records to the known history. Proxies included bulk stable isotopes of organic matter, magnetic susceptibility, and trace metal concentrations. Our data reveal clear changes in organic matter composition and concentration associated with land use changes and twentieth century sewage disposal practices. Further, metal data correspond with local industrial activity, particularly the historic tanning industry in Peabody, MA. Although conservation practices of past decades have improved the state of Salem Sound, the stratigraphic record demonstrates that the environment is still affected by anthropogenic influences, and has not attained conditions consistent with pre-anthropogenic baseline. The approach and results of this study are applicable to coastal embayments that are being assessed for remediation, especially those with scant historic or monitoring data.

中文翻译：

---

人为因素对城市化中生河口的影响已有数百年历史：马萨诸塞州塞勒姆桑德。

萨利姆，MA，波士顿以北，具有丰富的，证据充分的历史最早可于1626年回到结算CE，但对人为因素对塞勒姆声音的影响却很难控制。该项目利用声音中过时的沉积物核来评估系统的人为改变的代理记录，并将代理记录与已知历史进行比较。代理包括有机物的整体稳定同位素，磁化率和痕量金属浓度。我们的数据揭示了与土地利用变化和20世纪污水处理实践相关的有机物组成和浓度的明显变化。此外，金属数据与当地的工业活动相对应，特别是马萨诸塞州皮博迪的历史悠久的制革业。尽管过去几十年的保护措施改善了塞勒姆峡湾的状况，但地层记录表明，环境仍然受到人为因素的影响，并且没有达到与人为发生前的基线一致的条件。这项研究的方法和结果适用于正在评估补救措施的沿海浮标，尤其是那些历史或监测数据很少的浮标。