The USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) is leading a study to construct, deploy, and evaluate an underwater Acoustic Deterrent System (uADS) at Lock and Dam 19 (LD19) near Keokuk, Iowa. The uADS will be designed with the goal of deterring Asian carp from moving upstream in the upper Mississippi River. The uADS will be evaluated for up to three years for its impacts on both native and invasive fish passage and behavior. To design and install such a system, details about the condition of the lock approach and substrate are necessary. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) locks are not surveyed on a regular basis, so additional imaging is helpful for assessing the condition of the structure and identifying locations for uADS deployment and attachment. New remote sensing science and technology with hydroacoustics and light detection and ranging (lidar) was used in support of this Asian carp control project.
Because no single tool can provide a comprehensive picture of Lock and Dam 19, UMESC used various sensors to effectively map the lock and dam approach. Hydroacoustic data, including multibeam bathymetry, underwater video, and MEGA-imaging side scan (a commercial underwater sonar sensor) were recorded at the same time as terrestrial lidar data to produce a detailed picture of the lock approach at LD19. Data products created from these sensors include digital elevation model, hillshade, backscatter, bathymetric slope, MEGA-imaging side scan, and underwater videos. These remote sensing technologies will be used to evaluate the condition of the concrete sills and discharge laterals, where the uADS will be installed. Additionally, images of the lock gates, ladder wells, and location of an underwater sewer discharge pipe will inform uADS installation plans and provide information necessary for deploying a sound and fish monitoring array on-site. Collecting these data prior to system construction and installation facilitated efficiencies in the uADS construction and deployment process, saving both time and money.
https://doi.org/10.5066/P9XNY6LQ
Hydroacoustic data provides a comprehensive picture of Lock and Dam 19 near Keokuk, Iowa, to support the construction, deployment, and evaluation of an underwater Acoustic Deterrent System (uADS) to prevent Asian carp from moving upstream in the upper Mississippi River.