Articles | Volume 6, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-351-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-351-2018
Research article
 | 
09 May 2018
Research article |  | 09 May 2018

Seismic signature of turbulence during the 2017 Oroville Dam spillway erosion crisis

Phillip J. Goodling, Vedran Lekic, and Karen Prestegaard

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AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
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AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision
AR by Phillip Goodling on behalf of the Authors (14 Mar 2018)  Author's response   Manuscript 
ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (04 Apr 2018) by Florent Gimbert
AR by Phillip Goodling on behalf of the Authors (05 Apr 2018)  Author's response   Manuscript 
ED: Publish as is (06 Apr 2018) by Florent Gimbert
ED: Publish as is (08 Apr 2018) by Tom Coulthard (Editor)
AR by Phillip Goodling on behalf of the Authors (10 Apr 2018)
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Short summary
The Oroville Dam flood control spillway suffered catastrophic erosion damage in February 2017. We find that seismic waves recorded by a seismometer 2 km away contain information about the flow turbulence and damage location in the spillway. We show that enhanced turbulence due to spillway damage excites louder seismic waves at a given flow rate, which can be used to detect the onset and track the migration of erosion damage. The methods we use could be used to monitor other structures or rivers.