River Sediment Transport

The transport of sediments by rivers affects the environment in many ways, forming and deforming bedforms, eroding banks, and transporting pollutants to name a few. These measurements have been carried out by various government agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Past methods have employed bottle sampling methods, which produce large numbers of samples that end up being stored in a warehouse. Sequoia Scientific, Inc., has developed a submersible instrument specifically for this application. Using laser diffraction, it provides detailed data which proves how past methods have fallen short.

In this presentation, Dr. Yogi Agrawal, from Sequoia Scientific, will describe new instrumentation and some revealing measurements in Washington State's Cowlitz River.