Validation of Streamflow Measurements Made with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 133, Issue 12
Abstract
The U.S. Geological Survey and other international agencies have collaborated to conduct laboratory and field validations of acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements of streamflow. Laboratory validations made in a large towing basin show that the mean differences between tow cart velocity and ADCP bottom-track and water-track velocities were and , respectively. Field validations of commercially available ADCPs were conducted by comparing streamflow measurements made with ADCPs to reference streamflow measurements obtained from concurrent mechanical current-meter measurements, stable rating curves, salt-dilution measurements, or acoustic velocity meters. Data from 1,032 transects, comprising 100 discharge measurements, were analyzed from 22 sites in the United States, Canada, Sweden, and The Netherlands. Results of these analyses show that broadband ADCP streamflow measurements are unbiased when compared to the reference discharges regardless of the water mode used for making the measurement. Measurement duration is more important than the number of transects for reducing the uncertainty of the ADCP streamflow measurement.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The USGS and Environment Canada provided financial support for the field validations and the South Florida Water Management District provided financial support for part of the laboratory validations. The writers gratefully acknowledge Francois Rainville (Environment Canada), Aad J. Hartman (Rijkswaterstaat, The Netherlands), Christer Jonnson (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute), Erlend Moe (Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate), and Tyler Brandt, Brian Loving, Kevin Johnson, and Sonny Anderson (USGS) for their efforts to collect and summarize ADCP validation measurements used in this paper.
Disclaimer. Use of trade, product, or firm names in this paper is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
References
Appell, G. F., Gast, J., Williams, R. G., and Bass, P. D. (1988). “Calibration of acoustic Doppler current profilers.” Proc., Oceans ’88–Conf. and Exposition October 31-November 2, 1988, IEEE, Washington, D.C., 346–352.
Bos, W. G. (1991). “A comparison of two Doppler current profilers.” J. Oceanic Eng., 16(4), 374–381.
Carter, R. W., and Anderson, I. E. (1963). “Accuracy of current meter measurements.” J. Hydr. Div., 89(4), 105–115.
Chen, C. (1991). “Unified theory on power laws for flow resistance.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 117(3), 371–389.
Dinehart, R. L., and Burau, J. R. (2005). “Averaged indicators of secondary flow in repeated ADCP crossings of bends.” Water Resour. Res., 41(9), W09405.1–W09405.18.
González, J. A., Melching, C. S., and Oberg, K. A. (1996). “Analysis of open-channel velocity measurements collected with an acoustic Doppler current profiler.” Proc., RiverTech96, IWRA, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Vol. 2, QC, Canada, 838–845.
Gordon, L. (1996). Acoustic Doppler current profilers principles of operation: A practical primer, 2nd Ed., RD Instruments, San Diego.
Helsel, D. R., and Hirsch, R. M. (1992). Statistical methods in water resources, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Hubbard, E. F., Schwarz, G. E., Thibodeaux, K. G., and Turcios, L. M. (2001). “Price current-meter standard rating development by the U.S. geological survey.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 127(4), 250–257.
International Standards Organization (ISO). (1976). “Liquid flow measurement in open channels—Calibration of rotating element current meters in straight open tanks.” ISO3455, Geneva, Switzerland.
International Standards Organization (ISO). (1979). “Liquid flow measurement in open channels—Velocity-area methods.” ISO748, Geneva, Switzerland.
Jacobson, R. B., Elliott, C. M., and Johnson, H. E., III. (2004). “Assessment of shallow-water habitat availability in modified dike structures, lower Missouri River.” U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Rep. 2004-1409, Denver.
Kostaschuk, R., Villard, P., and Best, J. (2004). “Measuring velocity and shear stress over dunes with acoustic Doppler profiler.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 130(9), 932–936.
Lemmin, U., and Rolland, T. (1997). “Acoustic velocity profiler for laboratory and field studies.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 123(12), 1089–1098.
Morlock, S. E. (1996). “Evaluation of acoustic Doppler current profiler measurements of river discharge.” U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigation Rep. 95-4218, Denver.
Mueller, D. S. (2002). “Field assessment of acoustic Doppler based discharge measurements.” Proc., Hydraulic Measurements & Experimental Methods 2002 (CD-ROM), ASCE, Reston, Va.
Naval Sea Systems Command. (2004). “Facility data sheet, shallow water basin, towing carriage No. 1.” http://www.dt.navy.mil/hyd/fac/tow-bas/index.html (March 30, 2006).
Nystrom, E. A., Oberg, K. A., and Rehmann, C. R. (2002). “Measurement of turbulence with acoustic Doppler current profilers—Sources of error and laboratory results.” Proc., Hydraulic Measurements & Experimental Methods 2002 (CD-ROM), ASCE, Reston, Va.
Oberg, K. A. (2002). “In search of easy-to-use methods for calibrating ADCP’s for velocity and discharge measurements.” Proc., Hydraulic Measurements & Experimental Methods 2002 (CD-ROM), ASCE, Reston, Va.
Oberg, K. A., Morlock, S. E., and Caldwell, W. S. (2005). “Quality-assurance plan for discharge measurements using acoustic Doppler current profilers.” U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Rep. 2005-5183, Denver.
Oberg, K. A., and Mueller, D. S. (1994). “Recent applications of acoustic Doppler current profilers.” Proc., Fundamentals and Advancements in Hydraulic Measurements and Experimentation, ASCE, Reston, Va., 341–350.
Okunishi, K., Saito, T., and Yoshida, T. (1992). “Accuracy of stream gauging by dilution methods.” J. Hydrol., 137(1–4), 231–243.
Pelletier, P. M. (1988). “Uncertainties in the single determination of river discharge: A literature review.” Can. J. Civ. Eng., 15(5), 834–850.
Rantz, S. E., et al. (1982). “Measurement and computation of streamflow.” U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2175, Denver.
Rehmel, M. S., Stewart, J. A., and Morlock, S. E. (2003). “Tethered acoustic Doppler current profiler platforms for measuring streamflow.” U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Rep. 03-237, Denver.
Rennie, C. D., Millar, R. G., and Church, M. A. (2002). “Measurement of bed load velocity using an acoustic Doppler current profiler.” J. Hydraul. Eng.. 128(5), 473–483.
Shih, H. H., Payton, C., Sprenke, J., and Mero, T. (2000). “Towing basin speed calibration of acoustic Doppler current profiling instruments.” Proc., 2000 Joint Conf. on Water Resources Engineering and Water Resources Planning and Management, ASCE, Reston, Va.
Simpson, M. (2001). “Discharge measurements using a broad-band acoustic Doppler current profiler.” U. S. Geological Survey, Open-File Rep. 01-01, Denver, http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/of/ofr0101/ .
Simpson, M. R., and Oltmann, R. N. (1993). “Discharge measurement using an acoustic Doppler current profiler.” U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2395, Denver.
SonTek/YSI. (2001). ADP principles of operation, SonTek/YSI, Inc., http://www.sontek.com/princop/adp/adppo.htm (April 1, 2006).
Teledyne RD Instruments (TRDI). (2000). “Broadband ADCP water-profiling modes.” Teleydyne RD Instruments FSA-003, San Diego.
Teledyne RD Instruments (TRDI). (2003). WinRiver user’s guide—USGS version, San Diego.
Wagner, C. R., and Mueller, D. S. (2001). “Calibration and validation of a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of the Ohio River, Jefferson County, Kentucky.” U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Rep. 01-4091, Denver.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 133 • Issue 12 • December 2007
Pages: 1421 - 1432
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: May 3, 2006
Accepted: Jun 7, 2007
Published online: Dec 1, 2007
Published in print: Dec 2007
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.