Paul Kinzel
Paul Kinzel is a Hydrologist with the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
Education
M.S. in Civil Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, May 1998
B.S. in Environmental Science, State University of New York, Plattsburgh, May 1995
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 40
Aerial images, digital elevation models, channel width maps, and river metrics along the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park, Utah (1940 - 2018)
These data consist of rectified aerial photographs, measurements of active channel width, measurements of river and floodplain bathymetry and topography, and ancillary data. These data are specific to the corridor of the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park between Potash, Utah and the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers near Spanish Bottom, Utah. The time period for these data are
Helicopter-based videos and field measurements of flow depth and velocity from the Tanana River, Alaska, acquired on July 24, 2019
This data release includes videos acquired from a helicopter and field measurements of flow depth and velocity from the Tanana River near Nenana, Alaska, obtained on July 24, 2019. This parent data release includes links to child pages for two data sets produced during the study: 1. Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) field measurements of flow depth and velocity from the Tanana River, Alas
Data from a flume investigation using Fiber Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (FO-DTS), U.S. Geological Survey Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, fall 2019
Evaluating technologies and approaches to identify the movement of fine sediment over coarser substrate has implications for monitoring the condition of habitat restoration sites. This goal motivated testing the efficacy of Fiber Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (FO-DTS) as a technique for detecting the migration of sand bedforms over coarser bed material. Experiments were conducted in a labo
Satellite video and field measurements of flow velocity acquired from the Tanana River in Alaska and used for particle image velocimetry (PIV)
This data release includes a video acquired from a satellite and field measurements of flow velocity from the Tanana River in Alaska that were used to derive remotely sensed estimates of surface flow velocities via particle image velocimetry (PIV). The field data were collected on July 24, 2019, in cooperation with the USGS Alaska Science Center, and the satellite video was obtained on July 14, 2
Geo-referenced orthophotographs of the Snow River, Alaska, acquired September 1, 2018
This data release consists of orthophotographs of the Snow River in Alaska acquired on September 1, 2018. The orthophotographs were produced from images obtained using a Hasselblad A6D-100C 100 megapixel digital mapping camera deployed within a pod mounted on the landing gear of a Robinson R44 helicopter. Images were acquired as the helicopter transited a series of flight lines designed to provid
Field measurements of flow depth and optical image sequences acquired from the Salcha River, Alaska, on July 25, 2019
This data release includes field measurements of flow depth and optical image sequences acquired from the Salcha River in Alaska on July 25, 2019. These data were used to develop and test a spectrally based remote sensing technique for estimating water depth from passive optical image data. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of inferring water depths from optical image seque
Remotely sensed bathymetry and field measurements from the Colorado River near Lees Ferry, Arizona, September 23, 2019
To support an investigation of the feasibility of measuring river bathymetry using a polarizing lidar sensor, lidar and field measurements were collected on the Colorado River near Lees Ferry, Arizona on September 23, 2019. This parent data release includes links to child pages for the following data sets: 1) Lidar data used for mapping channel bathymetry (depth), acquired with a novel instrument
UAS-based remotely sensed bathymetry and field measurements from the Colorado River, near Parshall Colorado, June 13, 2019
To support an investigation of the feasibility of measuring river bathymetry using remotely sensed data acquired from a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS), remotely sensed bathymetry and field measurements were collected from two cross-sections on the Colorado River near Parshall, CO on June 13, 2019. This parent data release includes links to child pages for the following data sets: 1) Lidar
UAS-based remotely sensed data and field measurements from the Blue River and Colorado River, near Kremmling, Colorado, October 17-18, 2018
To support an investigation of the feasibility of measuring river bathymetry using remotely sensed data acquired from an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), several types of remotely sensed data and field measurements were collected from two cross-sections on the Blue River and two cross-sections on the Colorado River near Kremmling, Colorado, on October 17-18, 2018. This parent data release includes
Field measurements of flow velocity and optical image sequences acquired from the Salcha and Tanana Rivers in Alaska in 2018 and 2019 and used for particle image velocimetry (PIV)
This data release includes field measurements of flow velocity and optical image sequences used to derive remotely sensed estimates of surface flow velocities via particle image velocimetry (PIV) from two rivers in Alaska. These data were acquired from the Salcha River on August 31, 2018, and the Tanana River on July 24, 2019. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of inferring
Hydrographic surveys collected to monitor fish spawning reef placements, Detroit and St. Clair Rivers, Michigan, July 23-25, 2018
The U.S Geological Survey conducted hydrographic surveys from July 23-25, 2018 to monitor fish spawning substrate placements (reefs) in the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers, Michigan. A multibeam echosounder was used from the Great Lakes Science Center research vessel Cisco to collect hydrographic data. These data were used to generate maps of river bottom topography in locations where spawning substr
Bathymetric Survey of the Ichilo and Sajta Rivers, near Puerto Villarroel, Bolivia, May 23-24, 2019
A bathymetric survey was conducted upstream and downstream of the confluence of the Ichilo and Sajta Rivers near Puerto Villarroel, Bolivia. The surveyed reach extends approximately 12 kilometers upstream of the confluence along the Ichilo River, approximately 2 kilometers upstream of the confluence along the Sajta River, and 1.5 kilometers downstream of the confluence. The bathymetric data includ
Filter Total Items: 59
Remote sensing of tracer dye concentrations to support dispersion studies in river channels
In river channels the flow field influences the dispersion of biota, contaminants, and other suspended or dissolved materials. Insight on patterns and rates of dispersion can be gained by injecting a pulse of visible dye and observing spatial and temporal variations in dye concentration as the pulse moves downstream. We evaluated the potential of passive optical remote sensing to enhance such trac
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Richard R. McDonald, Jonathan M. Nelson, Paul J. Kinzel, Ryan L. Perroy, Donghae Baek, Il Won Seo
sUAS-based remote sensing of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry and bathymetric lidar
This paper describes a non-contact methodology for computing river discharge based on data collected from small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS). The approach is complete in that both surface velocity and channel geometry are measured directly under field conditions. The technique does not require introducing artificial tracer particles for computing surface velocity, nor does it rely upon the pres
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter
Near-field remote sensing of Alaskan Rivers
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory (GSTL), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), acquired remotely sensed data from several Alaskan rivers in 2017 and 2018 with the goal of developing a methodology for measuring streamflow from a helicopter. CRREL operates a custom airborne lid
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Jonathan M. Nelson, Jeff Conaway, Adam LeWinter, Peter Gadomski, Dominic Filiano
Remote sensing of river flow in Alaska—New technology to improve safety and expand coverage of USGS streamgaging
The U.S. Geological Survey monitors water level (water surface elevation relative to an arbitrary datum) and measures streamflow in Alaska rivers to compute and compile river flow records for use by water resource planners, engineers, and land managers to design infrastructure, manage floodplains, and protect life, property, and aquatic resources. Alaska has over 800,000 miles of rivers including
Authors
Jeff Conaway, John R. Eggleston, Carl J. Legleiter, John Jones, Paul J. Kinzel, John W. Fulton
New methods for predicting and measuring dispersion in rivers
To develop a better predictive tool for dispersion in rivers over a range of temporal and spatial scales, our group has developed a simple Lagrangian model that is applicable for a wide range of coordinate systems and flow modeling methodologies. The approach allows dispersion computations for a large suite of discretizations, model dimensions (1-, 2-, or 3-dimensional), spatial and temporal discr
Authors
Jonathan M. Nelson, Richard R. McDonald, Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Travis Terrell Ramos, Yutaka Higashi, Il Won Seo, Donghae Baek, Du Han Lee, Yonguk Ryu
Sampling strategies to improve passive optical remote sensing of river bathymetry
Passive optical remote sensing of river bathymetry involves establishing a relation between depth and reflectance that can be applied throughout an image to produce a depth map. Building upon the Optimal Band Ratio Analysis (OBRA) framework, we introduce sampling strategies for constructing calibration data sets that lead to strong relationships between an image-derived quantity and depth across
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Brandon Overstreet, Paul J. Kinzel
Remote measurement of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry (PIV) and various sources of bathymetric information
Although river discharge is a fundamental hydrologic quantity, conventional methods of streamgaging are impractical, expensive, and potentially dangerous in remote locations. This study evaluated the potential for measuring discharge via various forms of remote sensing, primarily thermal imaging of flow velocities but also spectrally-based depth retrieval from passive optical image data. We acquir
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Jonathan M. Nelson
Fine-scale habitat preference of green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) within three spawning locations in the Sacramento River, California
Vast sections of the Sacramento River have been listed as critical habitat by the National Marine Fisheries Service for green sturgeon spawning (Acipenser medirostris), yet spawning is known to occur at only a few specific locations. This study reveals the range of physical habitat variables selected by adult green sturgeon during their spawning period. We integrated fine-scale fish positions, phy
Authors
Megan T. Wyman, Michael J. Thomas, Richard R. McDonald, Alexander R. Hearn, Ryan D. Batt, Eric D. Chapman, Paul J. Kinzel, J. Tobey Minear, Ethan A. Mora, Jonathan M. Nelson, Matthew D. Pagel, A. Peter Klimley
Using remotely sensed data to estimate river characteristics including water-surface velocity and discharge
This paper describes a project combining field studies and analyses directed at providing an assessment of the accuracy of remotely sensed methods for determining river characteristics such as velocity and discharge. In particular, we describe a remote sensing method for surface velocities using mid-wave thermal camera videography combined with image analysis. One of the critical problems in this
Authors
Jonathan M. Nelson, Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Richard R. McDonald, Brandon Overstreet, Jeffrey S. Conaway
Physical characteristics of the lower San Joaquin River, California, in relation to white sturgeon spawning habitat, 2011–14
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed that white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) recently spawned in the lower San Joaquin River, California. Decreases in the San Francisco Bay estuary white sturgeon population have led to an increased effort to understand their migration behavior and habitat preferences. The preferred spawning habitat of other white sturgeon (for example, those in the C
Authors
Mathieu D. Marineau, Scott Wright, Daniel R. Whealdon-Haught, Paul J. Kinzel
Remote measurement of surface-water velocity using infrared videography and PIV: a proof-of-concept for Alaskan rivers
Thermal cameras with high sensitivity to medium and long wavelengths can resolve features at the surface of flowing water arising from turbulent mixing.
Images acquired by these cameras can be processed with particle image velocimetry (PIV) to compute surface velocities based on the displacement of thermal features as they advect with the flow.
We conducted a series of field measurements to test
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Jonathan M. Nelson, Jeffrey S. Conaway
Effect of sediment supply and flow rate on the initiation and topographic evolution of sandbars in laboratory and numerical channels
The evolution of barforms from a bed of uniform sediment and changes in sediment storage were measured in a laboratory flume and simulated numerically. Flume experiments were conducted with several upstream sediment supplies and flow conditions. For the sediment supply rates (no upstream supply, equilibrium supply, and 133, 166, and 200 percent of the equilibrium supply) and flow rates examined, t
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Brandy Logan, Jonathan M. Nelson
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 40
Aerial images, digital elevation models, channel width maps, and river metrics along the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park, Utah (1940 - 2018)
These data consist of rectified aerial photographs, measurements of active channel width, measurements of river and floodplain bathymetry and topography, and ancillary data. These data are specific to the corridor of the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park between Potash, Utah and the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers near Spanish Bottom, Utah. The time period for these data are
Helicopter-based videos and field measurements of flow depth and velocity from the Tanana River, Alaska, acquired on July 24, 2019
This data release includes videos acquired from a helicopter and field measurements of flow depth and velocity from the Tanana River near Nenana, Alaska, obtained on July 24, 2019. This parent data release includes links to child pages for two data sets produced during the study: 1. Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) field measurements of flow depth and velocity from the Tanana River, Alas
Data from a flume investigation using Fiber Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (FO-DTS), U.S. Geological Survey Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, fall 2019
Evaluating technologies and approaches to identify the movement of fine sediment over coarser substrate has implications for monitoring the condition of habitat restoration sites. This goal motivated testing the efficacy of Fiber Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (FO-DTS) as a technique for detecting the migration of sand bedforms over coarser bed material. Experiments were conducted in a labo
Satellite video and field measurements of flow velocity acquired from the Tanana River in Alaska and used for particle image velocimetry (PIV)
This data release includes a video acquired from a satellite and field measurements of flow velocity from the Tanana River in Alaska that were used to derive remotely sensed estimates of surface flow velocities via particle image velocimetry (PIV). The field data were collected on July 24, 2019, in cooperation with the USGS Alaska Science Center, and the satellite video was obtained on July 14, 2
Geo-referenced orthophotographs of the Snow River, Alaska, acquired September 1, 2018
This data release consists of orthophotographs of the Snow River in Alaska acquired on September 1, 2018. The orthophotographs were produced from images obtained using a Hasselblad A6D-100C 100 megapixel digital mapping camera deployed within a pod mounted on the landing gear of a Robinson R44 helicopter. Images were acquired as the helicopter transited a series of flight lines designed to provid
Field measurements of flow depth and optical image sequences acquired from the Salcha River, Alaska, on July 25, 2019
This data release includes field measurements of flow depth and optical image sequences acquired from the Salcha River in Alaska on July 25, 2019. These data were used to develop and test a spectrally based remote sensing technique for estimating water depth from passive optical image data. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of inferring water depths from optical image seque
Remotely sensed bathymetry and field measurements from the Colorado River near Lees Ferry, Arizona, September 23, 2019
To support an investigation of the feasibility of measuring river bathymetry using a polarizing lidar sensor, lidar and field measurements were collected on the Colorado River near Lees Ferry, Arizona on September 23, 2019. This parent data release includes links to child pages for the following data sets: 1) Lidar data used for mapping channel bathymetry (depth), acquired with a novel instrument
UAS-based remotely sensed bathymetry and field measurements from the Colorado River, near Parshall Colorado, June 13, 2019
To support an investigation of the feasibility of measuring river bathymetry using remotely sensed data acquired from a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS), remotely sensed bathymetry and field measurements were collected from two cross-sections on the Colorado River near Parshall, CO on June 13, 2019. This parent data release includes links to child pages for the following data sets: 1) Lidar
UAS-based remotely sensed data and field measurements from the Blue River and Colorado River, near Kremmling, Colorado, October 17-18, 2018
To support an investigation of the feasibility of measuring river bathymetry using remotely sensed data acquired from an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), several types of remotely sensed data and field measurements were collected from two cross-sections on the Blue River and two cross-sections on the Colorado River near Kremmling, Colorado, on October 17-18, 2018. This parent data release includes
Field measurements of flow velocity and optical image sequences acquired from the Salcha and Tanana Rivers in Alaska in 2018 and 2019 and used for particle image velocimetry (PIV)
This data release includes field measurements of flow velocity and optical image sequences used to derive remotely sensed estimates of surface flow velocities via particle image velocimetry (PIV) from two rivers in Alaska. These data were acquired from the Salcha River on August 31, 2018, and the Tanana River on July 24, 2019. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of inferring
Hydrographic surveys collected to monitor fish spawning reef placements, Detroit and St. Clair Rivers, Michigan, July 23-25, 2018
The U.S Geological Survey conducted hydrographic surveys from July 23-25, 2018 to monitor fish spawning substrate placements (reefs) in the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers, Michigan. A multibeam echosounder was used from the Great Lakes Science Center research vessel Cisco to collect hydrographic data. These data were used to generate maps of river bottom topography in locations where spawning substr
Bathymetric Survey of the Ichilo and Sajta Rivers, near Puerto Villarroel, Bolivia, May 23-24, 2019
A bathymetric survey was conducted upstream and downstream of the confluence of the Ichilo and Sajta Rivers near Puerto Villarroel, Bolivia. The surveyed reach extends approximately 12 kilometers upstream of the confluence along the Ichilo River, approximately 2 kilometers upstream of the confluence along the Sajta River, and 1.5 kilometers downstream of the confluence. The bathymetric data includ
Filter Total Items: 59
Remote sensing of tracer dye concentrations to support dispersion studies in river channels
In river channels the flow field influences the dispersion of biota, contaminants, and other suspended or dissolved materials. Insight on patterns and rates of dispersion can be gained by injecting a pulse of visible dye and observing spatial and temporal variations in dye concentration as the pulse moves downstream. We evaluated the potential of passive optical remote sensing to enhance such trac
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Richard R. McDonald, Jonathan M. Nelson, Paul J. Kinzel, Ryan L. Perroy, Donghae Baek, Il Won Seo
sUAS-based remote sensing of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry and bathymetric lidar
This paper describes a non-contact methodology for computing river discharge based on data collected from small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS). The approach is complete in that both surface velocity and channel geometry are measured directly under field conditions. The technique does not require introducing artificial tracer particles for computing surface velocity, nor does it rely upon the pres
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter
Near-field remote sensing of Alaskan Rivers
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory (GSTL), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), acquired remotely sensed data from several Alaskan rivers in 2017 and 2018 with the goal of developing a methodology for measuring streamflow from a helicopter. CRREL operates a custom airborne lid
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Jonathan M. Nelson, Jeff Conaway, Adam LeWinter, Peter Gadomski, Dominic Filiano
Remote sensing of river flow in Alaska—New technology to improve safety and expand coverage of USGS streamgaging
The U.S. Geological Survey monitors water level (water surface elevation relative to an arbitrary datum) and measures streamflow in Alaska rivers to compute and compile river flow records for use by water resource planners, engineers, and land managers to design infrastructure, manage floodplains, and protect life, property, and aquatic resources. Alaska has over 800,000 miles of rivers including
Authors
Jeff Conaway, John R. Eggleston, Carl J. Legleiter, John Jones, Paul J. Kinzel, John W. Fulton
New methods for predicting and measuring dispersion in rivers
To develop a better predictive tool for dispersion in rivers over a range of temporal and spatial scales, our group has developed a simple Lagrangian model that is applicable for a wide range of coordinate systems and flow modeling methodologies. The approach allows dispersion computations for a large suite of discretizations, model dimensions (1-, 2-, or 3-dimensional), spatial and temporal discr
Authors
Jonathan M. Nelson, Richard R. McDonald, Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Travis Terrell Ramos, Yutaka Higashi, Il Won Seo, Donghae Baek, Du Han Lee, Yonguk Ryu
Sampling strategies to improve passive optical remote sensing of river bathymetry
Passive optical remote sensing of river bathymetry involves establishing a relation between depth and reflectance that can be applied throughout an image to produce a depth map. Building upon the Optimal Band Ratio Analysis (OBRA) framework, we introduce sampling strategies for constructing calibration data sets that lead to strong relationships between an image-derived quantity and depth across
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Brandon Overstreet, Paul J. Kinzel
Remote measurement of river discharge using thermal particle image velocimetry (PIV) and various sources of bathymetric information
Although river discharge is a fundamental hydrologic quantity, conventional methods of streamgaging are impractical, expensive, and potentially dangerous in remote locations. This study evaluated the potential for measuring discharge via various forms of remote sensing, primarily thermal imaging of flow velocities but also spectrally-based depth retrieval from passive optical image data. We acquir
Authors
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel, Jonathan M. Nelson
Fine-scale habitat preference of green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) within three spawning locations in the Sacramento River, California
Vast sections of the Sacramento River have been listed as critical habitat by the National Marine Fisheries Service for green sturgeon spawning (Acipenser medirostris), yet spawning is known to occur at only a few specific locations. This study reveals the range of physical habitat variables selected by adult green sturgeon during their spawning period. We integrated fine-scale fish positions, phy
Authors
Megan T. Wyman, Michael J. Thomas, Richard R. McDonald, Alexander R. Hearn, Ryan D. Batt, Eric D. Chapman, Paul J. Kinzel, J. Tobey Minear, Ethan A. Mora, Jonathan M. Nelson, Matthew D. Pagel, A. Peter Klimley
Using remotely sensed data to estimate river characteristics including water-surface velocity and discharge
This paper describes a project combining field studies and analyses directed at providing an assessment of the accuracy of remotely sensed methods for determining river characteristics such as velocity and discharge. In particular, we describe a remote sensing method for surface velocities using mid-wave thermal camera videography combined with image analysis. One of the critical problems in this
Authors
Jonathan M. Nelson, Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Richard R. McDonald, Brandon Overstreet, Jeffrey S. Conaway
Physical characteristics of the lower San Joaquin River, California, in relation to white sturgeon spawning habitat, 2011–14
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed that white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) recently spawned in the lower San Joaquin River, California. Decreases in the San Francisco Bay estuary white sturgeon population have led to an increased effort to understand their migration behavior and habitat preferences. The preferred spawning habitat of other white sturgeon (for example, those in the C
Authors
Mathieu D. Marineau, Scott Wright, Daniel R. Whealdon-Haught, Paul J. Kinzel
Remote measurement of surface-water velocity using infrared videography and PIV: a proof-of-concept for Alaskan rivers
Thermal cameras with high sensitivity to medium and long wavelengths can resolve features at the surface of flowing water arising from turbulent mixing.
Images acquired by these cameras can be processed with particle image velocimetry (PIV) to compute surface velocities based on the displacement of thermal features as they advect with the flow.
We conducted a series of field measurements to test
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Jonathan M. Nelson, Jeffrey S. Conaway
Effect of sediment supply and flow rate on the initiation and topographic evolution of sandbars in laboratory and numerical channels
The evolution of barforms from a bed of uniform sediment and changes in sediment storage were measured in a laboratory flume and simulated numerically. Flume experiments were conducted with several upstream sediment supplies and flow conditions. For the sediment supply rates (no upstream supply, equilibrium supply, and 133, 166, and 200 percent of the equilibrium supply) and flow rates examined, t
Authors
Paul J. Kinzel, Brandy Logan, Jonathan M. Nelson