English: In the wake of heavy rains from Hurricane Irene, sediment filled many rivers and bays along the U.S. East Coast. New York’s Hudson River and estuary was no exception. In this true-color satellite image, pale green and tan water flows past Manhattan and mixes with the darker waters of New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean. Sediment plumes are prominent in Delaware Bay and along the Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina coasts. Also, the Delaware, Hudson, and other rivers stand out as tan and brown tracings far into the interior landscape. In the scene above, fresh water of the upper Hudson has likely pushed all the way down near Manhattan, in a river that is usually a saltwater mix well into upstate New York. Tides and currents in the harbor send pulses of sediment-laden water into Raritan Bay (lower left), the Atlantic, and even up the East River into Long Island Sound. The color of the water generally depends on the amount and type of sediment, as the green, tan, and deep brown areas have varying degrees of suspended silt, sand, mud, leaf tannins, and other organic matter. Note, for instance, the darker brown tinting near the Passaic River in New Jersey (image left). The brightness, or reflectance, of the water is also an indication of how close to the top of the water column those sediments are moving.