Laboratory Evaluation of Acoustic Backscatter and LISST Methods for Measurements of Suspended Sediments

Abstract: The limitation of traditional sampling method to provide detailed spatial andtemporal profiles of suspended sediment concentration has led to an interest in alternativedevices and methods based on scattering of underwater sound and light . In the presentwork, acoustic backscatter and LISST (the Laser In Situ Scattering Transmissometry)devices, and methodologies were given. Besides a laboratory study was conducted tocompare pumping methods for different sediment radiuses at the same concentration. Theglass spheres (ballotini) of three different radiuses of 115, 137 and 163 μm were used toobtain suspension in the sediment tower at laboratory. A quite good agreement wasobtained between these methods and pumping results with the range at 60.6-94.2% forsediment concentration and 91.3-100% for radius measurements. These results and theother studies show that these methods have potential for research tools for sedimentstudies. In addition further studies are needed to determine the ability of these methods forsediment measurement under different water and sediment material conditions.