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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 29, NO. 22, 2084, doi:10.1029/2002GL015525, 2002

River discharge measurements by using helicopter-mounted radar

N. B. Melcher

United States Geological Survey (USGS), Tucson, Arizona, USA


J. E. Costa

USGS, Portland, Oregon, USA


F. P. Haeni

USGS, Storrs Mansfield, Connecticut, USA


R. T. Cheng

USGS, Menlo Park, California, USA


E. M. Thurman

USGS, Lawrence, Kansas, USA


M. Buursink

USGS, Storrs Mansfield, Connecticut, USA


K. R. Spicer

USGS, Vancouver, Washington, USA


E. Hayes

Stennis Space Center, USGS, Mississippi, USA


W. J. Plant

Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA


W. C. Keller

Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA


K. Hayes

Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA


Abstract

The United States Geological Survey and the University of Washington collaborated on a series of initial experiments on the Lewis, Toutle, and Cowlitz Rivers during September 2000 and a detailed experiment on the Cowlitz River during May 2001 to determine the feasibility of using helicopter-mounted radar to measure river discharge. Surface velocities were measured using a pulsed Doppler radar, and river depth was measured using ground-penetrating radar. Surface velocities were converted to mean velocities, and horizontal registration of both velocity and depth measurements enabled the calculation of river discharge. The magnitude of the uncertainty in velocity and depth indicate that the method error is in the range of 5 percent. The results of this experiment indicate that helicopter-mounted radar can make the rapid, accurate discharge measurements that are needed in remote locations and during regional floods.

Published 30 November 2002.

Index Terms: 0669 Electromagnetics: Scattering and diffraction; 1821 Hydrology: Floods; 1894 Hydrology: Instruments and techniques; 6969 Radio Science: Remote sensing.

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Citation: Melcher, N. B., et al. (2002), River discharge measurements by using helicopter-mounted radar, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29(22), 2084, doi:10.1029/2002GL015525.