Acoustic Sub-Bottom Profiling Surveys of Flood Control Reservoirs

Abstract

Research Article| May 01, 2013 Acoustic Sub-Bottom Profiling Surveys of Flood Control Reservoirs JOHN A. DUNBAR; JOHN A. DUNBAR 1 Department of Geology, Baylor University, One Bear Place 97354, Waco, TX 76798-7354 1Corresponding author email: john_dunbar@baylor.edu. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar PETER M. ALLEN; PETER M. ALLEN Department of Geology, Baylor University, One Bear Place 97354, Waco, TX 76798-7354 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar PAUL D. HIGLEY; PAUL D. HIGLEY Specialty Devices, Inc., 2905 Capital Street, Wylie, TX 75098 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar SEAN J. BENNETT SEAN J. BENNETT Department of Geography, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14261-0055 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information JOHN A. DUNBAR 1 Department of Geology, Baylor University, One Bear Place 97354, Waco, TX 76798-7354 PETER M. ALLEN Department of Geology, Baylor University, One Bear Place 97354, Waco, TX 76798-7354 PAUL D. HIGLEY Specialty Devices, Inc., 2905 Capital Street, Wylie, TX 75098 SEAN J. BENNETT Department of Geography, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14261-0055 1Corresponding author email: john_dunbar@baylor.edu. Publisher: Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1558-9161 Print ISSN: 1078-7275 © 2013 Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (2013) 19 (2): 135–148. https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.19.2.135 Article history First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation JOHN A. DUNBAR, PETER M. ALLEN, PAUL D. HIGLEY, SEAN J. BENNETT; Acoustic Sub-Bottom Profiling Surveys of Flood Control Reservoirs. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience 2013;; 19 (2): 135–148. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.19.2.135 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyEnvironmental & Engineering Geoscience Search Advanced Search Abstract Since the 1940s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has built over 11,000 flood-control reservoirs (FCR) throughout the United States. Most were designed to hold 50 years' worth of sedimentation. Many have reached that age, but the amount of sediment they contain is unknown. Conventionally, reservoir sedimentation is monitored by measuring the change in reservoir capacity over time relative to an initial survey. However, the vast majority of FCR in the United States have never been surveyed. We evaluate a new method for surveying FCR in which an acoustic sub-bottom profiler is used to measure both water depth and sediment thickness in one survey. From these measurements both the current reservoir capacity and post-impoundment sediment volume are determined. We evaluate the method by conducting surveys of 21 FCR to find the frequency with which the base of post-impoundment sediment can be mapped throughout the reservoir. In 18 of the 21 FCR surveyed, both the water bottom and the base of post-impoundment sediment could be mapped throughout, allowing both the current and initial reservoir capacity to be determined. Comparing our estimates of initial reservoir capacities with as-built capacities estimated prior to construction we find that only seven of the 18 agree to within 10 percent. Some disagree by more than a factor of 2. We conclude that as-built capacities of USDA FCR should be used with caution for estimating post-impoundment sediment volumes and that in the majority of cases more accurate estimates can be made by direct measurement using sub-bottom acoustic profiling. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.