New Estuarine Measurement Equipment and Techniques

New hydraulic, radiologic, and sedimentologic measurement equipment and techniques have been developed for the study of radio-nuclide movement in the Columbia River estuary. With a new system, vertical velocity distributions are measured rapidly with a single continuously-moving boat and sufficient observations can be made in 1.5 hr to provide data for computing instantaneous water discharge at wide sections of the estuary. A radiation detector that is mounted in a sled permits radioactivity in the streambed to be monitored conveniently. Large-volume sampling and high-flow filter equipment facilitate the collection and separation of large representative suspended-sediment samples. A vibratory sampler capable of collecting 6-ft cores of bed sediment is portable and can be used to sample sandy bottoms in flow velocities up to about 5 fps. All the equipment may be used for hydrologic studies in other estuaries and rivers.