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Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:

Probing the depths of the Big Muddy: What does the bed of the Missouri River look like?

Illustrated river waves in white
Presented by Caroline Elliott
Bedforms

The Big Muddy is deep and mysterious. One can't just look down and see what is on the bottom the way you can in a clear Ozark stream. Scientists from the US Geological Survey at the Columbia Environmental Research Center have developed a variety of tools to see through the murky river and watch what is happening on the bottom.  They use precise measurements to watch and measure the migration of sand dunes and we can see details like rocky outcrops and large trees on the bottom of the river.  Through the use of sonar they image fish like the pallid sturgeon as they swim upstream and even spawn in fast deep areas near the bottom of the river.

USGS Geologist Caroline Elliott will reveal what she's learned about the hidden world of the bottom of the Missouri River, and share images of this murky and shifting environment.

Caroline's research is part of the Comprehensive Sturgeon Project. Her team is measuring bedload transport rates and mapping out the parts of the river that are moving and parts of the river channel that are stable. The research questions for pallid sturgeon recruitment and survival involve determining if the places where pallid sturgeon are currently spawning in the Missouri River are stable enough to support successful incubation of sturgeon embryos.  When pallid sturgeon spawn they release eggs that adhere to rocky substrates in the river and scientists think these eggs require stable substrates for four to eight days before they hatch. Other questions related to bed and sand dune movement involve understanding how sturgeon move upstream through the river during their pre-spawning migrations and how drifting invertebrates many bottom-dwelling fish feed on move along the bed of the river.
The USGS geomorphologists use sonar, specifically a multibeam echosounder and survey-grade GPS to map the bottom of the river.  They use an acoustic Doppler current profiler to map velocity flow fields in the river channel and several types of sonar and underwater cameras to view fish and sediment in the river.  They've made measurements at the bottom of the river in many places along the 811 miles of the Lower Missouri River downstream from Gavins Point Dam and on the Yellowstone River, a Missouri River tributary upstream in Montana and North Dakota.
This presentation is part of a two-month long project called "Tributary - An Exploration of the Missouri River, Real and Metaphorical" curated by Minister of Information Don Wilkison and hosted by Charlotte Street Foundation. Find out all the details here.  

Meet Your Presenter

Big Muddy Speaker Series

Caroline Elliott

, USGS River Studies Branch

Caroline's research is part of the Comprehensive Sturgeon Project. Her team is measuring bedload transport rates and mapping out the parts of the river that are moving and parts of the river channel that are stable. The research questions for pallid sturgeon recruitment and survival involve determining if the places where pallid sturgeon are currently spawning in the Missouri River are stable enough to support successful incubation of sturgeon embryos.

Related Presentations

Resources & Links

"Tributary" - a collaboration of Art and Science

This presentation is part of a two-month long project called "Tributary - An Exploration of the Missouri River, Real and Metaphorical" curated by Minister of Information Don Wilkison and hosted by Charlotte Street Foundation. Find out all the details here. 

Resources & Links

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The Big Muddy Speakers Series in Kansas City

is hosted by these wonderful partners!

Thanks to all of our venue hosts for making this possible! Click here for a list of upcoming presentations» The Big Muddy Speaker Series is also held monthly in Rocheport and St. Charles.

Recordings of Presentations

Kansas City Digital Video has been recording Big Muddy Speaker Series presentations. These are available on their website at this link. Some contain synchronized powerpoint presentations. We will be posting these to the archived presentation pages on bigmuddyspeakers.org. Thanks Micheal Morgan and crew for putting this important archive online!

Upcoming Presentations

Missouri River Relief: 25 Years on the Big Muddy

November 10, 2026
Columbia, MO

Join us for a journey through time celebrating 25 years of Missouri River Relief's work on the Big Muddy.

See Event

Plastic Pollution, Gulf Hypoxia, and Water Quality

November 11, 2026
St Charles, MO

Jennifer Wendt from MidAmerica Clean Future guides us through understanding regional water quality challenges.

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Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by our presenters do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of Missouri River Relief, the Big Muddy Speaker Series or any of the partners that support this public forum. The Big Muddy Speaker Series believes that hearing diverse perspectives is a crucial building block for an informed public.
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