Images

Exploratory well drilling on Long Island to study the effective management of Long Island’s groundwater resources

Drill rig on Long Island, NY

Drilling exploratory wells on Long Island

Don Bonville, Physical Scientist Technician, weighs soils into crucibles for the determination of percent dry and loss-on-ignition.  These soil samples are part of the Hydrologic Benchmark Network Program. 

Manhole Cover and Accompanying NEMA Box Set-Up at E. Niagara Street Location, Buffalo, NY

USGS staffer Michael Izdebski sampling groundwater.

USGS scientist setting up equipment for groundwater sampling 

Gaging station S-5517 in Suffolk County with DCP for groundwater well collecting real-time data

USGS hydrologist Amy Simonson making a discharge measurement with a flowtracker in a Long Island stream.

Rain gage on Long Island

The AUV travels along the under-bay section of the Bergen Point Sewage Treatment Plant outfall pipe in Babylon, NY. The goal is to see if changes in surrounding water-quality suggest potential leaks in the aging infrastructure.

A buoy warning of the under-bay sewage treatment plant pipeline appears to guide the AUV on its course; confirming that the AUV’s position is accurate. The AUV uses a differential global positioning system (GPS) receiver and bottom-tracking Doppler velocimetry log (DVL) to maintain position.

Retrieval and Results

Processed data are exported to two- and three- dimensional mapping applications to visualize water-quality distributions.  Combined with observed water currents and bathymetric contours, this allows for an integrated analysis of the system under investigation.

This autonomous instrument reduces the time and manpower traditionally needed for manned-boat surveys. Because geologic, biologic, hydraulic, and chemical data are collected simultaneously; the datasets allow for a systems-based approach to analysis.

If the vehicle becomes stuck or disabled at depth, a hydrophone can be used to locate the submerged instrument. When at the surface, the AUV can send its retrieval location to a web server or cell phone.

USGS Scientists launching an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)

The AUV navigates to its starting position before diving to a fixed distance off the seabed to measure dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Great South Bay, Long Island, NY.  The goal is to document the spatial extent of low dissolved oxygen concentrations, or hypoxia, to identify the best habitat for juvenile hard clam survival.

Groundwater-level Monitoring for Characterization of Hydraulic Connections in the Basal Sand & Gravel Aquifer, Hoosic River Valley, Hoosick Falls, New York

Nicole Casamassina making a streamflow measurement with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) at USGS 01304500 PECONIC RIVER AT RIVERHEAD NY (Credit: Amy Simonson, USGS NY WSC, Public domain.)

Small fish from Adirondack Stream

Brook trout collected from an Adirondack stream