Author(s): Andrew Weiss; Shawn P. Clark; Colin D. Rennie; Stephanie A. Moore; Habib Ahmari

Linked Author(s): Shawn Clark, Colin Rennie

Keywords: Acoustic Doppler current profiler; field studies; ice covered rivers; particle-laden flows; sediment transport; suspended sediments; velocity measurements; water quality

Abstract: This paper explores use of acoustic Doppler current profiler backscatter amplitude as a surrogate for total suspended solids concentration. Total suspended solids concentration and acoustic Doppler current profiler data were collected at the Lower Nelson River and Red River in Manitoba, Canada, during both ice-covered and open water periods such that acoustic Doppler current profiler backscatter data could be calibrated to predict TSS concentrations. Several novel calibration schemes were evaluated, including multiple linear regression models that involved flow parameters determined from acoustic Doppler current profiler data in addition to acoustic backscatter intensity. The inclusion of the average of the friction velocities of the channel bed and ice cover, calculated from time-averaged velocity data, in a multiple linear regression was found to improve model performance in both studied rivers and during both ice-covered and open water periods.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2015.1076531

Year: 2015