Bottom and Suspended Sediment Backscatter Measurements in a Flume—Towards Quantitative Bed and Water Column Properties

Autor: Thaiënne A. G. P. Van Dijk, Marc Roche, Xavier Lurton, Ridha Fezzani, Stephen M. Simmons, Sven Gastauer, Peer Fietzek, Chris Mesdag, Laurent Berger, Mark Klein Breteler, Dan R. Parsons
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, Vol 12, Iss 4, p 609 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2077-1312
DOI: 10.3390/jmse12040609
Popis: For health and impact studies of water systems, monitoring underwater environments is essential, for which multi-frequency single- and multibeam echosounders are commonly used state-of-the-art technologies. However, the current scarcity of sediment reference datasets of both bottom backscatter angular response and water column scattering hampers empirical data interpretation. Comprehensive reference data derived from measurements in a controlled environment should optimize the use of empirical backscatter data. To prepare for such innovative experiments, we conducted a feasibility experiment in the Delta Flume (Deltares, The Netherlands). Several configurations of sonar data were recorded of the flume floor and suspended sediment plumes. The results revealed that flume reverberation was sufficiently low and that the differential settling of fine-sand plumes in the water column was clearly detected. Following this successful feasibility test, future comprehensive experiments will feature multi-frequency multi-angle measurements on a variety of sediment types, additional scatterers and sediment plumes, resulting in reference datasets for an improved interpretation of underwater backscatter measurements for scientific observation and sustainable management.
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