Bottom Hardness Mapping
Sonar maps of soft muck and firm bottom across your whole lake or reservoir.
How it works
How sonar measures bottom hardness
Every sonar ping bounces off the bottom. Firm sand, gravel and rock send back a strong echo, while soft organic muck absorbs the signal and sends back a weak one.
We record that echo across the whole lake or reservoir on the same pass as depth and vegetation, and map it, so you can see where muck has built up and where the bottom is still firm.
Why it matters
Targeting management to soft sediment
Soft sediment drives many lake problems, and it is rarely spread evenly.
Nutrient hot spots
Soft organic sediment stores phosphorus that feeds algae. The map shows where it has collected.
Muck reduction and dredging
Biological muck treatment and dredging go where soft sediment is, not across the whole lake.
Aeration placement
Diffusers set in soft muck can sink and stir up sediment, so we site them with the map.
Spawning habitat
Many fish spawn on firm gravel and sand. The map shows how much is left.
Pair it with sediment cores
Confirm composition with sediment cores
The hardness map shows where soft sediment is. Sediment analysis adds what it is made of and how deep it goes, from core samples taken where the map points.
A repeat map after treatment or dredging shows how much of the bottom has firmed up.
Explore other related services
Schedule a bottom hardness survey
Collected on the same boat pass as depth and vegetation maps.