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Assessment of sedimentation processes determined from side-scan sonar surveys in the Buffalo River, New York, USA

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

An assessment of sedimentation processes was made using side-scan sonar records collected over a 15-year period in the Buffalo River, New York, USA. Spatial and temporal changes in natural and man-made bedforms documented sediment erosion, slumping, and sediment depositional sites. Bedforms and sediment texture were used to divide the mapped portion of the river (9 km) into four sedimentary environments, with Section 1 at the upper end and Section 4 near the mouth where the river discharges into the east end of Lake Erie. Based on annual changes in side-scan sonar records, depositional rates decrease in the downriver direction. Section 2, located 5 km from the river’s mouth, contains sedimentary furrows. The persistence of furrows in this portion of the river requires both sediment erosion and deposition under a bidirectional flow regime. Results from this study confirmed that side-scan sonar is a valuable tool in understanding sediment dynamics and can be useful in river restoration decision making.

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Acknowledgments

Lana Fuller, Steve Ruhl, and Steve Monninger, Middlebury College undergraduates, helped in the collection and interpretation of side-scan sonar records (1990–1996). Caroline Orsi rubber-sheeted the 2004 analog data. Captain John Freidhoff, SUNY-Buffalo State College Great Lakes Center, provided field support for all of the sonar surveys. T.O. Manley did the digital processing of 2005 data and his assistance in collecting the digital data is acknowledged. Patrick McLaren, GeoSea Consulting, provided many valuable comments during the development of this manuscript. Theodore Kanellopoulos, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, gave many helpful suggestions during the review of this manuscript. This research was partially supported by a grant from the US EPA Great Lakes National Program Office (GL96549601-1) and the American Chemical Society – Petroleum Research Fund (1993–1995).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology Department, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 05753, USA

    P. L. Manley

  2. Earth Sciences, SUNY-Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY, 14222, USA

    J. K. Singer

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  1. P. L. Manley
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  2. J. K. Singer
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Correspondence to P. L. Manley.

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Manley, P.L., Singer, J.K. Assessment of sedimentation processes determined from side-scan sonar surveys in the Buffalo River, New York, USA. Environ Geol 55, 1587–1599 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1109-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1109-8

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