Bottom and Suspended Sediment Backscatter Measurements in a Flume—Towards Quantitative Bed and Water Column Properties
Type | Article | ||||||||||||
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Date | 2024-03-31 | ||||||||||||
Language | English | ||||||||||||
Author(s) | Van Dijk Thaiënne A. G. P.1, 2, Roche Marc3, Lurton Xavier4, Fezzani Ridha5, Simmons Stephen M.6, Gastauer Sven7, 8, Fietzek Peer9, Mesdag Chris1, Berger Laurent5, Klein Breteler Mark10, Parsons Dan R.6 | ||||||||||||
Affiliation(s) | 1 : Department of Applied Geology and Geophysics, Deltares, 3584 BK Utrecht, The Netherlands 2 : Department of Earth Science and Environmental Change, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61801, USA 3 : Continental Shelf Service, FPS Economy, 1000 Brussels, Belgium 4 : Independent Researcher, 29280 Locmaria-Plouzane, France 5 : Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), 29280 Plouzane, France 6 : Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK 7 : Thünen Institute for Sea Fisheries, 27572 Bremerhaven, Germany 8 : Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Integrated Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, CA 92037, USA 9 : Kongsberg Discovery, 22529 Hamburg, Germany 10 : Department of Coastal Structures and Waves, Deltares, 2629 HV Delft, The Netherlands |
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Source | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (2077-1312) (MDPI AG), 2024-03-31 , Vol. 12 , N. 4 , P. 609 (14p.) | ||||||||||||
DOI | 10.3390/jmse12040609 | ||||||||||||
Note | This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Advances in Coastal Oceanography | ||||||||||||
Keyword(s) | multibeam backscatter, flume experiment, underwater habitat mapping, water column, suspended sediment plumes | ||||||||||||
Abstract | 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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