Bed Sediment Characterization

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has been studying and assessing the Mississippi River since the 1800s.  Numerous studies have been conducted to show the bed sediment characterization of the Mississippi River.  The most recent report was completed in 1989 and contrasted the differences of the bed sediment of the Mississippi River from a 1935 report.  Some of the differences included finer sediments and many river physical feature changes (links to the 1935 and 1989 reports are located below).  As USACE begins a new multi-year study in 2013,  the scientists will review the baselines established in the earlier assessments.

The Waterways Experiment Station produced the report: Studies of River Bed Materials and Their Movement, With Special Reference to the Lower MIssissippi River, January 1935, Paper 17. (Read report)

The Lower Mississippi Valley Division contracted with Carl F. Nordin and Bryan Scott Queen, Colorado State University, to produce: Particle Size Distributions of Bed Sediments Along the Thalweg of the MIssissippi River, Cairo, Illinois to Head of Passes, September 1989, Report 7. (Read report)