Scour is the process of sediment erosion around bridge piers and abutments due to natural and man-made hydraulic activities. Excessive scour is a critical problem that is typically handled by enforcing design requirements that make the submerged structures more resilient. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the feasibilities of the Optical- Based Green Laser Scanner and HydroLite Sonar in a laboratory setting to capture the 3D profile of simulated local scour holes. The Green Laser had successfully reconstructed a 3D point-cloud imaging of scour profiles under both dry and clear water conditions. The derived scour topography after applying water refraction correction was compared with the simulated scour hole, and was within 1% of the design dimensions. The elevations at the top and bottom surfaces of the 6.5-inch scour hole were -46.6 and -53.11 inches from the reference line at the origin (0,0,0) of the laser scanner. The HydroLite Sonar recorded hydrographical survey points of the scour’s interior surface. The survey points were then processed using MATLAB to obtain a 3D mesh triangulation. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection