High-resolution sediment dynamics, water depth, and water velocity sensing system

A sediment dynamics monitoring system for scour, erosion or deposition detection, comprising:

• a fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) sediment dynamics monitoring device comprising:
• a support structure;
• a FO cable wound around the support structure, the FO cable providing continuous sensing along a length of the support structure;
• and
• a heating element collocated along the FO cable;
• a power controller configured to control heating of the heating element;
• and
• a distributed temperature sensing (DTS) system configured to measure a temperature profile along a length of the FO cable, wherein an anomaly in the measured temperature profile indicates an interface surrounding the FO-DTS sediment dynamics monitoring device;
• wherein the FO-DTS sediment dynamics monitoring device is positioned in sediment of a waterway and the interface is a sediment-water interface or an air-water interface and the DTS system is configured to:
• detect a location of a minimum observed temperature along the FO-DTS sediment dynamics monitoring device;
• calculate a gradient of the measured temperature profile;
• and
• determine a location of the sediment-water interface, wherein the location of the sediment-water interface corresponds to a location of a minimum temperature gradient observed between an end of the FO-DTS sediment dynamics monitoring device located inside the sediment and the location of the minimum observed temperature.

A sediment dynamics monitoring system for scour, erosion or deposition detection, comprising:

• a fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) sediment dynamics monitoring device comprising:
• a support structure;
• a FO cable wound around the support structure, the FO cable providing continuous sensing along a length of the support structure;
• and
• a heating element collocated along the FO cable;
• a power controller configured to control heating of the heating element;
• and
• a distributed temperature sensing (DTS) system configured to measure a temperature profile along a length of the FO cable, wherein an anomaly in the measured temperature profile indicates an interface surrounding the FO-DTS sediment dynamics monitoring device, wherein the DTS system is configured to identify a location of the interface along the length of the support structure based upon the temperature profile and the identified location of the interface is a water-air interface.