This dataset includes vertical velocity profiles and river discharges at cross sections of interest acquired at the Arkansas and South Platte Rivers in Colorado and the Salcha and Tanana Rivers in Alaska. Velocity measurements were measured at various depths at the y-axis, which is the vertical in the cross section where the maximum velocity (umax) occurs. When wading was possible, velocity and depth measurements were recorded using a Flowtracker2 ® instrument (SonTek, 2020). When wading was not possible, stationary bed measurements were recorded using an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP)s. Data are presented in a comma separated value (.csv) file.

This dataset includes vertical velocity profiles and river discharge at cross section of interest where velocity measurements were taken on the Arkansas and South Platte Rivers in Colorado and the Salcha and Tanana Rivers in Alaska. Each profile contains measurements at various depths at the y-axis, which is the vertical in the cross-sectional profile where the maximum velocity (umax) occurs. These measurements were taken using a FlowTracker, FlowTracker2 ® instrument (FlowTracker2, 2020) when wading was possible; if wading was not possible, measurements were taken from a boat using an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) under stationary bed conditions. Data are presented in a comma separated value (CSV) file.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is actively investigating the use of innovative remote-sensing techniques to estimate surface velocity and discharge of rivers in ungaged basins and river reaches that lack the infrastructure to install conventional streamgaging equipment. By coupling discharge algorithms and sensors capable of measuring surface velocity, streamgage networks can be established in regions where data collection was previously impractical or impossible. One of the remote-sensing techniques uses a Doppler (velocity) radar (QCam) mounted and integrated on a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS or drone). QCam measures the along-track surface velocity by spot dwelling in a river cross section at a vertical where the maximum surface velocity is recorded. To evaluate the extensibility of the method, five science flights were conducted on four rivers of varying size including the Arkansas and South Platte Rivers in Colorado and the Salcha and Tanana Rivers in Alaska. QCam surface velocities and QCam river discharges were compared to conventional streamgaging methods.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is actively investigating the use of innovative remote-sensing techniques to estimate surface velocity and discharge of rivers in ungaged basins and river reaches that lack the infrastructure to install conventional streamgaging equipment. By coupling discharge algorithms and sensors capable of measuring surface velocity, streamgage networks can be established in regions where data collection was previously impractical or impossible. One of the remote-sensing techniques uses a Doppler (velocity) radar (QCam) mounted and integrated on a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS or drone). QCam measures the along-track surface velocity by spot dwelling in a river cross section at a vertical where the maximum surface velocity is recorded. To evaluate the extensibility of the method, five science flights were conducted on four rivers of varying size including the Arkansas and South Platte Rivers in Colorado and the Salcha and Tanana Rivers in Alaska. QCam surface velocities and QCam river discharges were compared to conventional streamgaging methods.

This dataset contains data collected during science flights using the drone-based QCam, which is a Doppler (velocity) radar designed to measure surface velocity and compute river discharge when channel bathymetry is known. Five science flights were conducted on four rivers including the Arkansas and South Platte Rivers in Colorado and the Salcha and Tanana Rivers in Alaska. Data are presented in a comma separated values (CSV) file.

This dataset contains data collected during science flights using the drone-based QCam, which is a Doppler (velocity) radar designed to measure surface velocity and compute river discharge when channel bathymetry is known. Five science flights were conducted on four rivers including the Arkansas and South Platte Rivers in Colorado and the Salcha and Tanana Rivers in Alaska. Data are presented in a comma separated values (CSV) file.

This dataset contains survey data including wading and real-time kinematic (RTK) Global Positioning System (GPS) of water surface elevation and channel bed topography at cross section 5 (xs5) on March 20, 2018, which is adjacent to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgage at Arkansas River at Parkdale, Colorado (USGS 07094500). The RTK Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) surveys were performed using a local base station associated with the streamgage and Trimble R8 and R10 receivers while wading the channel at cross section 5. The survey data were postprocessed by performing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Online Positioning User Service (OPUS) correction of the static observations collected by the base and adjusting all the survey points accordingly. The survey data were exported to comma separated text (.csv) files, and the resulting file contains a survey point identification, spatial coordinates, elevations in meters above North American Vertical Datum of 1988, and a descriptive code for each point number. The data release also provides a channel cross-sectional area for each river stage in 0.01-meter increments derived from the survey data.

This dataset contains survey data including wading and real-time kinematic (RTK) Global Positioning System (GPS) of water surface elevation and channel bed topography at cross section 5 (xs5) on March 20, 2018, which is adjacent to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgage at Arkansas River at Parkdale, Colorado (USGS 07094500). The RTK Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) surveys were performed using a local base station associated with the streamgage and Trimble R8 ® and R10 ® receivers while wading the channel at xs5. The survey data were post-processed by performing the National Oceanic and Atmopheric Administration Online Positioning User Service (OPUS) correction of the static observations collected by the base and adjusting all the survey points accordingly. The survey data were exported to comma separated text (.csv) files, and the resulting file contains a survey point identification, spatial coordinates, elevations in meters above North American Vertical Datum of 1988, and a descriptive code for each point number. The data release also provides a channel cross-sectional area for each river stage in 0.01-meter increments derived from the survey data.