PDF format log books of data collection in Lake Mead in 1999

Lake Mead is a large interstate reservoir located in the Mojave Desert of southeastern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. It was impounded in 1935 by the construction of Hoover Dam and is one of a series of multi-purpose reservoirs on the Colorado River. The lake extends 183 km from the mouth of the Grand Canyon to Black Canyon, the site of Hoover Dam, and provides water for residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, and other non-agricultural users in communities across the southwestern United States. Extensive research has been conducted on Lake Mead, but a majority of the studies have involved determining levels of anthropogenic contaminants such as synthetic organic compounds, heavy metals and dissolved ions, furans/dioxins, and nutrient loading in lake water, sediment, and biota (Preissler, et al., 1998; Bevans et al, 1996; Bevans et al., 1998; Covay and Leiker, 1998; LaBounty and Horn, 1997; Paulson, 1981). By contrast, little work has focused on the sediments in the lake and the processes of deposition (Gould, 1951). To address these questions, sidescan-sonar imagery and high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles were collected throughout Lake Mead by the USGS in cooperation with researchers from University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). These data allow a detailed mapping of the surficial geology and the distribution and thickness of sediment that has accumulated in the lake since the completion of Hoover Dam. Results indicate that the accumulation of post-impoundment sediment is primarily restricted to former river and stream beds that are now submerged below the lake while the margins of the lake appear to be devoid of post-impoundment sediment. The sediment cover along the original Colorado River bed is continuous and is typically greater than 10 m thick through much of its length. Sediment thickness in some areas exceeds 35 m while the smaller tributary valleys typically are filled with less than 4 m of sediment. Away from the river beds that are now covered with post-impoundment sediment, pre-impoundment alluvial deposits and rock outcrops are still exposed on the lake floor.

米德湖（Lake Mead）是一座位于内华达州东南部与亚利桑那州西北部莫哈韦沙漠（Mojave Desert）中的大型跨州水库。1935年，胡佛水坝（Hoover Dam）的建成使其蓄水，它是科罗拉多河（Colorado River）沿线一系列多用途水库之一。该湖从大峡谷（Grand Canyon）河口延伸至胡佛水坝所在地黑峡谷（Black Canyon），全长183公里，为美国西南部各社区的住宅、商业、工业、娱乐及其他非农业用户提供供水服务。
学界已针对米德湖开展了大量研究，但多数研究聚焦于测定湖水、沉积物及生物体内的人为污染物（anthropogenic contaminants）水平，包括合成有机化合物（synthetic organic compounds）、重金属（heavy metals）、溶解离子（dissolved ions）、呋喃/二噁英（furans/dioxins）以及营养盐负荷（nutrient loading）（Preissler等，1998；Bevans等，1996；Bevans等，1998；Covay与Leiker，1998；LaBounty与Horn，1997；Paulson，1981）。与之相对，针对湖体沉积物及其沉积过程的研究则寥寥无几（Gould，1951）。
为填补这一研究空白，美国地质调查局（United States Geological Survey, USGS）联合内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校（University of Nevada Las Vegas, UNLV）的研究人员，在全湖范围内采集了侧扫声呐（sidescan-sonar）影像与高分辨率地震反射剖面（high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles）数据。此类数据可用于详细绘制自胡佛水坝建成以来，湖内沉积形成的表层地质（surficial geology）、沉积物分布与厚度。
研究结果表明，后筑坝期沉积物的堆积主要局限于现已被湖水淹没的古河床与古河道区域，而湖岸带几乎无后筑坝期沉积物分布。原科罗拉多河河床沿线的沉积物覆盖层连续分布，多数河段的沉积物厚度超过10米；部分区域的沉积物厚度甚至超过35米，而较小的支流河谷内的沉积物充填厚度通常不足4米。在现已被后筑坝期沉积物覆盖的河床之外，湖底仍裸露有筑坝前的冲积层（alluvial deposits）与岩石露头（rock outcrops）。