Denny, J.F., Foster, D.S., Worley, C.R., and Irwin, B.J., 2011, Geophysical data collected from the St. Clair River between Michigan and Ontario, Canada (2008-016-FA): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010–1035, 16 p., at https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20101035.
(Abstract)
In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHCMSC), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a geophysical and sampling survey of the riverbed of the Upper St. Clair River between Port Huron, MI, and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. The objectives were to define the Quaternary geologic framework of the St. Clair River to evaluate the relationship between morphologic change of the riverbed and underlying stratigraphy. This report presents the geophysical and sample data collected from the St. Clair River, May 29�June 6, 2008 as part of the International Upper Great Lakes Study, a 5-year project funded by the International Joint Commission of the United States and Canada to examine whether physical changes in the St. Clair River are affecting water levels within the upper Great Lakes, to assess regulation plans for outflows from Lake Superior, and to examine the potential effect of climate change on the Great Lakes water levels ( http://www.iugls.org). This document makes available the data that were used in a separate report, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2009�1137, which detailed the interpretations of the Quaternary geologic framework of the region. This report includes a description of the suite of high-resolution acoustic and sediment-sampling systems that were used to map the morphology, surficial sediment distribution, and underlying geology of the Upper St. Clair River during USGS field activity 2008-016-FA . Video and photographs of the riverbed were also collected and are included in this data release. Future analyses will be focused on substrate erosion and its effects on river-channel morphology and geometry. Ultimately, the International Upper Great Lakes Study will attempt to determine where physical changes in the St. Clair River affect water flow and, subsequently, water levels in the Upper Great Lakes.
Foster, David S., and Denny, Jane F., 2009, Quaternary geologic framework of the St. Clair River between Michigan and Ontario, Canada: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2009-1137, available online at https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20091137.
(Abstract)
Concern about the effect of geomorphic changes in the St. Clair River on water levels in the Upper Great Lakes resulted in the need for information on the geologic framework of the river. A geophysical survey of the Upper St. Clair River between Port Huron, MI, and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, was conducted to determine the Quaternary geologic framework of the region. Previously available and new sediment samples and photographic and video data support the interpretation of the seismic stratigraphy and surficial geology. Three seismic stratigraphic units and two unconformities were identified. Glacial drift, consisting of interbedded till and glaciolacustrine deposits, overlies shale. Glaciofluvial and modern fluvial processes have eroded the glacial drift. Glaciofluvial, glaciolacustrine, fluvial, and lacustrine deposits overlie this unconformity. Seismic facies were interpreted to identify areas where these geologic facies exist; however, in the absence of distinct boundaries between facies, these deposits were mapped as one undifferentiated unit. This unit is thickest in the northernmost 3 kilometers of the river, where it consists of relatively coarse-grained fluvial, reworked glaciofluvial, and possibly glaciofluvial deposits. To the south, this coarse-grained unit thins or is absent. The undifferentiated unit comprises most of the surficial deposits in the northernmost river area. Some areas of glacial drift, predominantly till, are exposed at the lake and riverbed. The shale is not exposed anywhere in the region. Geophysical surveys at sites downriver, together with the results of previous studies, indicate that the geologic framework is similar to that in the northernmost river area except for the absence or reduced thickness of the coarse-grained fluvial deposits. Instead, glacial drift is exposed at the riverbed or is covered by a veneer of sediment. This information on the substrate is important for ongoing sediment transport studies.