The monitoring of scour with flexibility can now be accomplished with the use of portable hand-held scanning sonar. Properly trained bridge inspectors with a working knowledge of acoustics have the ability to deploy scanning sonar in an effective manner to monitor the scour at a bridge. There are several advantages and some disadvantages of monitoring scour using scanning sonar. Case studies will demonstrate how properly trained inspectors have used this technology to detect, monitor and determine extents of scour at a bridge. The advantages and disadvantages of using sonar in theses cases will be examined in detail.

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