Images

Long exposure photo of a river during fall as the leaves are beginning to turn colors.

Hydro Technician, Henry Witt, takes a self portrait while he conducts a discharge measurement in the Houstonic River at Falls Village, CT. One of the many perks of field work year round is the ability to witness the seasons come and go. 

School Branch at Brownsburg IN downstream of gage

School Branch at Brownsburg IN under the bridge view

Autumnal reflection in the Shepaug River Peter's Dam gage pool looking upstream at the dam with the gage in view (site 01202501 at Woodville, CT). The blue sky and Autumn leaves cast a reflection in the gage pool.

Eagle Creek at Zionsville, IN under the bridge

Eagle Creek at Zionsville, IN downstream of gage

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

USGS scientists doing real time kinematic measurements with a GPS pole on intertidal section of beach.

Polar bear lounging on Alaska’s north coast.

Rain gage on Long Island

Cuyahoga River at Independence OH - downstream of gage

The City of Gary, Indiana and the Gary Sanitary District are committed to implementing green infrastructure solutions to reduce storm water inputs to their combined sewer system, with the goal of decreasing the volume of storm water to be treated.

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