Overview of hydro-acoustic current-measurement applications by the US Geological Survey in Indiana

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains a network of 170 streamflow-gaging stations in Indiana to collect data from which continuous records of river discharges are produced. Traditionally, the discharge record from a station is produced by recording river stage and making periodic discharge measurements through a range of stage, then developing a relation between stage and discharge. Techniques that promise to increase data collection accuracy and efficiency include the use of hydro-acoustic instrumentation to measure river velocities. The velocity measurements are used to compute river discharge. In-situ applications of hydro-acoustic instruments by the USGS in Indiana include acoustic velocity meters (AVMs) at six streamflow-gaging stations and newly developed Doppler velocity meters (DVMs) at two stations. AVMs use reciprocal travel times of acoustic signals to measure average water velocities along acoustic paths, whereas DVMs use the Doppler shift of backscattered acoustic signals to compute water velocities. In addition to the in-situ applications, three acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) are used to make river-discharge measurements from moving boats at streamflow-gaging stations in Indiana. The USGS has designed and is testing an innovative unmanned platform from which to make ADCP discharge measurements.