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 data release 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 the Arkansas River in Colorado and the data acquired are presented in comma separated values (CSV) files.

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 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 child item contains information about associating the calibration images and video to real-world distances using ground control points for each field site. The data included here can be used to provide a pixel ground scale distance for each video.
Each Field Site is abbreviated in various files in this data release. File and folder names quickly identify which site a particular file or dataset represents. The following abbreviations are used:

• ACS: Anthracite Creek at Somerset, Colorado, USA
• BRA: Blue River below Dillon, Colorado, USA (collected in August 2023)
• BRJ: Blue River below Dillon, Colorado, USA (collected in June 2023)
• CRG: Colorado River below Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA
• CRR: Colorado River above Roaring Fork River at Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA
• ERW: Eagle River below Milk Creek near Wolcott, Colorado, USA
• MCA: Maroon Creek near Aspen, Colorado, USA
• RFG: Roaring Fork at Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA

This child item contains the raw videos captured by small Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (sUAS) at each field site. It also includes a summary file with metadata for each video.
Each Field Site is abbreviated in various files in this data release. File and folder names quickly identify which site a particular file or dataset represents. The following abbreviations are used:

• ACS: Anthracite Creek at Somerset, Colorado, USA
• BRA: Blue River below Dillon, Colorado, USA (collected in August 2023)
• BRJ: Blue River below Dillon, Colorado, USA (collected in June 2023)
• CRG: Colorado River below Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA
• CRR: Colorado River above Roaring Fork River at Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA
• MCA: Maroon Creek near Aspen, Colorado, USA

This child item contains Mathworks MATLAB script files which reproduce the processing steps for each dataset. The following scripts are included:
MATLAB scripts to process the images extracted from sUAS videos for each site. See the FGDC metadata Data Quality Section Process Step 1 for details on these scripts:

• ACR_PIVLab_Script.m
• AFR_PIVLab_Script.m
• CCC_PIVLab_Script.m
• CMC_PIVLab_Script.m
• GLR_PIVLab_Script.m
• RMC_PIVLab_Script.m
• SMC_PIVLab_Script.m
• WMD_PIVLab_Script.m

MATLAB scripts to post process the data into the form supplied in this data release. See the FGDC metadata Data Quality Section Process Steps 2 and 3 for details on these scripts:

• CalibrateData.m
• CreatePlots.m

Each Field Site is abbreviated in various files in this data release. File and folder names are used to quickly identify which site a particular file or dataset represents. The following abbreviations are used:

• ACR: Androscoggin River, Auburn, Maine, USA
• AFR: Agua Fria River, near Rock Springs, Arizona, USA
• CCC: Coachella Canal above All-American Canal Diversion, California, USA
• CMC: Cochiti East Side Main Channel, near Cochiti, New Mexico, USA
• GLR: Gila River near Dome, Arizona, USA
• RMC: Reservation Main Canal near Yuma, Arizona, USA
• SMC: Sile Main Canal (at head) at Cochiti, New Mexico, USA
• WMD: Wellton-Mohawk Main Outlet Drain near Yuma, Arizona, USA

Software Requirements To execute the scripts included in this child item, users will need to have the following software:

1. Mathworks MATLAB. Users can install a free trial version of MATLAB by going to the Mathworks site (https://matlab.mathworks.com/).
2. The scripts in this child item have a dependency on the PIVLab open source souftware, version 2.55 or newer. PIVLab can be downloaded from this website: https://pivlab.blogspot.com/

This child item contains Doppler radar velocimetry spectra measurements for each field site where the radars were deployed.
Each Field Site is abbreviated in various files in this data release. File and folder names quickly identify which site a particular file or dataset represents. The following abbreviations are used:

• ACS: Anthracite Creek at Somerset, Colorado, USA
• BRA: Blue River below Dillon, Colorado, USA (collected in August 2023)
• BRJ: Blue River below Dillon, Colorado, USA (collected in June 2023)
• CRG: Colorado River below Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA
• CRR: Colorado River above Roaring Fork River at Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA
• ERW: Eagle River below Milk Creek near Wolcott, Colorado, USA
• MCA: Maroon Creek near Aspen, Colorado, USA
• RFG: Roaring Fork at Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA

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.

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.