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Costa et al. 2000
Costa, J.E., Spicer, K.R., Cheng, R.T., Haeni, F.P., Melcher, N.B., Thurman, E.M., Plant, W.J. and Keller, W.C. (2000). measuring stream discharge by non-contact methods: A Proof-of-Concept Experiment. Geophysical Research Letters 27: doi: 10.1029/1999GL006087. issn: 0094-8276.

This report describes an experiment to make a completely non-contact open-channel discharge measurement. A van-mounted, pulsed doppler (10 GHz) radar collected surface-velocity data across the 183-m wide Skagit River, Washington at a USGS streamgaging station using Bragg scattering from short waves produced by turbulent boils on the surface of the river. Surface velocities were converted to mean velocities for 25 sub-sections by assuming a normal open-channel velocity profile (surface velocity times 0.85). Channel cross-sectional area was measured using a 100 MHz ground-penetrating radar antenna suspended from a cableway car over the river. Seven acoustic doppler current profiler discharge measurements and a conventional current-meter discharge measurement were also made. Three non-contact discharge measurements completed in about a 1-hour period were within 1% of the gaging station rating curve discharge values. With further refinements, it is thought that open-channel flow can be measured reliably by non-contact methods. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union

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Abstract

Keywords
Exploration Geophysics, Remote sensing, Hydrology, Runoff and streamflow, Hydrology, Instruments and techniques
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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