What does USGS stand for?
United States Geological Survey
The USGS (United States Geological Survey) is a science bureau within the United States Department of the Interior.
How do I download USGS discharge data?
To download historical daily data, use the daily data link at NWIS website (you can directly use the following link: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/sw). Select historical observations, and in the next section, check the site number as the selection criterion, and press the Submit button.
What is stream discharge?
The discharge of a stream is the product of its velocity (V – length of travel per unit of time such as feet/second) times depth of the water (D – unit of length) times width (W of the water – units of length). (Make sure all all three lengths are expressed in the same unit.)
How is discharge measured at automated gauging stations?
At a gauging station, LSPIV enables discharge measurement over a broader range of flow conditions than those traditional methods. With measured surface velocities, stream discharges are calculated from the depth-averaged velocities (using an empirical velocity-index relationship) and cross-section area.
How many employees does the USGS have?
8,670 people
The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior; it is that department’s sole scientific agency. The USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.
How is USGS funded?
USGS was created in 1879 in a portion of a law that is known as the USGS Organic Act (43 U.S.C. §31). The agency generally is funded through the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations laws. USGS activities have both national and regional policy implications.
How do I get data from USGS?
For general inquiries, call 1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747). You can also use this website to send us a message or to initiate a live Web chat with a USGS Science Information Specialist. Most of our employees are listed in our online Staff Profiles . USGS offices are located in every state.
How do I export USGS data to Excel?
To save as a spreadsheet:
- Select File on the menu.
- Select Save As under the File menu.
- In the “Save as Type” control, select “Microsoft Office Excel Workbook”
- Press Save. The original file should still be available with a . txt extension.
What increases stream discharge?
Discharge increases as more water is added through rainfall, tributary streams, or from groundwater seeping into the stream. As discharge increases, generally width, depth, and velocity of the stream also increase.
What effects stream discharge?
Anthropogenic Factors Affecting Stream Discharge Anthropogenic or man-made factors affect stream discharge. Land use, channelization, and dams can have a tremendous effect on water velocity and volume.
How do you detect water discharge?
Using the depth and width measurements for calculating the area and the velocity measurements, the discharge is computed by the ADCP using discharge = area x velocity, similar to the conventional current-meter method.
How is discharge rate calculated?
CalcTool: Flow (discharge) rate calculator. From cross-section and average speed. The flow rate of a stream is equal to the flow velocity (speed) multiplied by the cross-sectional area of the flow. The equation Q=AV (Q=discharge rate, A=area, V=velocity) is sometimes known as the discharge equation.
How much surface water data does the USGS have?
Nationally, USGS surface-water data includes more than 850,000 station years of time-series data that describe stream levels, streamflow (discharge), reservoir and lake levels, surface-water quality, and rainfall. The data are collected by automatic
How often are current conditions recorded by the USGS?
Current conditions at selected sites based on the most recent data from on-site automated recording equipment. Measurements are commonly recorded at a fixed interval of 15- to 60-minutes and transmitted to the USGS every hour.
How often is discharge measured at a streamgage?
The USGS makes discharge measurements at most streamgages every 6 to 8 weeks, ensuring that the range of stage and flows at the streamgage are measured regularly. Special effort is made to measure extremely high and low stages and flows because these measurements occur less frequently.
How are discharge measurements done at gaging stations?
The use of portable weirs and flumes, floats, volumetric tanks, indirect methods, and tracers in measuring discharge are briefly described. Turnipseed, D.P., and Sauer, V.B., 2010, Discharge measurements at gaging stations: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods book 3, chap. A8, 87 p.
