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A one-week geophysical survey was conducted in the Las Vegas Bay part of Lake Mead during June 1-6, 2000 to acoustically map the surficial sediments and shallow subsurface geology of this part of the lake. The study was done by researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program in Woods Hole, MA and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. The objective was to map the distribution, volume and acoustic character of sediment that has accumulated on the floor of this part of the lake. The need for systematic mapping of this part of the lake's floor is because pollutants associated with surface and groundwater enter the lake through Las Vegas Wash at the head of Las Vegas Bay. Some of the pollutants transported to the lake by this runoff are deposited with the sediments on the lake floor. Understanding the distribution of sediments in the lake is needed to establish an effective monitoring program. The study built upon a geophysical survey conducted by the USGS and UNLV in 1999 that covered the deeper water parts of Las Vegas Bay and Boulder Basin. This year's survey focussed on the shallow water parts of the head of Las Vegas Bay with particular attention being directed at Las Vegas, Gypsum and Government Washes. Of these three Washes, the most effort was put into surveying Las Vegas Wash. This survey was conducted with an Edgetech DF-1000 sidescan sonar, a Knudsen high-resolution chirp subbottom profiling system, a Garmin fathometer, and P-Code GPS navigation. All data were logged digitally. [More]
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