| Affiliation: | (1) Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen, P.O. Box 330440, 28334 Bremen, Germany;(2) Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, P.O. Box 330440 28334 Bremen, Germany |
| Abstract: | With the development of high-resolution multibeam echosounder systems (MBES) for surveying shallow-water areas a new tool is available to monitor rapid changes in seabed morphology as, e.g., caused by the dumping of dredge spoil in coastal waters. In this study, four data sets of repeated bathymetric surveys with a MBES were processed and analyzed. The data were collected in a 1.94-km2 dumping site in the outer Weser Estuary (German Bight). Between June and December 1998, 2.6 million m3 of dredged sediment were deposited there. The bathymetric maps generated in the course of this study reveal features such as subaqueous dunes, scour holes, and mounds of dumped dredge spoil. The mean water depth decreased by about 1 m during the dumping period. Furthermore, difference grids showing changes in sediment volume allowed a calculation of the sediment budget for the monitored area. After a time period of only 5 months, 0.5 million m3 of the originally dumped 2.6 million m3 of dredge spoil had already been removed from the dumping site. |
