Observations and modeling are used to assess potential impacts of sediment releases due to dam removals on the Hudson River estuary. Watershed sediment loads are calculated based on sediment-discharge rating curves for gauges covering 80% of the watershed area. The annual average sediment load to the estuary is 1.2 Mt, of which about 0.6 Mt comes from side tributaries. Sediment yield varies inversely with watershed area, with regional trends that are consistent with substrate erodibility. Geophysical and sedimentological surveys in seven subwatersheds of the Lower Hudson were conducted to estimate the mass and composition of sediment trapped behind dams. Impoundments were classified as (1) active sediment traps, (2) run-of-river sites not actively trapping sediment, and (3) dammed natural lakes and spring-fed ponds. Based on this categorization and impoundment attributes from a dam inventory database, the total mass of impounded sediment in the Lower Hudson watershed is estimated as 4.9 ± 1.9 Mt. This represents about 4 years of annual watershed supply, which is small compared with some individual dam removals and is not practically available given current dam removal rates. More than half of dams impound drainage areas less than 1 km², and play little role in downstream sediment supply. In modeling of a simulated dam removal, suspended sediment in the estuary increases modestly near the source during discharge events, but otherwise effects on suspended sediment are minimal. Fine-grained sediment deposits broadly along the estuary and coarser sediment deposits near the source, with transport distance inversely related to settling velocity.

观测和建模用于评估由于大坝拆除对哈德逊河河口造成的沉积物释放的潜在影响。根据覆盖面积80％的量表的泥沙排放量额定曲线，计算出流域泥沙负荷。入河口的年平均泥沙量为1.2 Mt，其中约0.6 Mt来自侧支流。沉积物产量与流域面积成反比，区域趋势与基质易蚀性相一致。在下哈德逊河的七个子流域进行了地球物理和沉积学调查，以估计截留在大坝后面的沉积物的质量和组成。蓄水池的分类为（1）活跃的沉积物陷阱，（2）不能主动捕获沉积物的河道站点，以及（3）筑坝的天然湖泊和春季池塘。根据大坝库存数据库中的分类和蓄水属性，下哈德逊河流域的蓄水沉积物总质量估计为4.9±1.9Mt。这表示每年约有4年的分水岭供应量，与个别大坝的清除相比，这是很小的，并且在当前大坝清除率的情况下实际上无法获得。超过一半的水坝蓄积了不到1公里的流域²，对下游泥沙供应影响很小。在模拟的大坝拆除模型中，在排放事件期间，河口附近的泥沙会适度增加，但对泥沙的影响则很小。细粒沉积物沿河口广泛分布，较粗的沉积物沉积物靠近源头，其输送距离与沉降速度成反比。