NWDTW 2024

This training course will introduce attendees to more advanced Campbell Scientific topics such as PPP, MQTT push ingestion, and camera snapshot capture. The following advanced datalogger programs will be presented: Serial communication with Channel Master and Sontek Acoustic Doppler Meters (ADMs), Edge of Field automatic water quality sampling, and Capturing YSI sonde serial data to reduce noise.

During this sediment acoustics workshop we'll be unveiling the Surrogate Analysis and Index Developer (SAID) 2.0 software, we'll also work though the development of a sediment acoustic surrogate model, how to implement the model for computation in Aquarius, and how to publish the model using the Model Archive Summary. The workshop will also include exercises in processing ADCP files though the Sediment Transect Acoustics (STA) software for computation of SSC from ADCP transects and generation of Cross-Section 2-D concentration plots.

Historically, an engineer’s transit was considered the most effective way to determine the geometry of a channel, bridge, or culvert because data collection was simple, rapid, and accurate (Benson and Dalrymple, 1967). After flooding, transits were also used to collect positional data of important features such as high-water marks that correspond to peak flood stage and cross sections of a stream channel along a reach. A “transit-stadia” survey method was used to simultaneously collect horizontal and vertical positioning data. With the advent of modern land-surveying equipment, total station instruments have become the standard for rapid and accurate three-dimensional positioning using terrestrial-based surveying methods.
Common field techniques to obtain quality results include averaging zenith angles and slope distances observed in direct and reverse instrument orientation (F1 and F2, respectively), multiple sets of reciprocal observations, quality meteorological observations to correct for the effects of atmospheric refraction, and electronic distance measurements that generally do not exceed 500 feet. In general, third-order specifications are required for differences between F1 and F2 zenith angles and slope distances; differences between redundant instrument-height measurements; section misclosure determined from reciprocal observations; and closure error for closed traverse. For F1 observations such as backsight check and check shots, the construction-grade specification is required for elevation differences between known and observed values.
Two types of closed traverse surveys have been identified as reliable methods to establish and perpetuate vertical control: the single-run loop traverse and double-run spur traverse. Leveling measurements for a double-run spur traverse are made in the forward direction from the origin to the destination and are then retraced along the same leveling route in the backward direction, from the destination to the origin. Every control point in a double-run spur traverse is occupied twice. Leveling measurements for a single-run loop traverse are made in the forward direction from the origin point to the destination, and then from the destination to the origin point, along a different leveling route. The only point that is redundantly occupied for the single-run loop traverse is the origin. An open traverse method is also considered an acceptable approach to establish and perpetuate vertical control if the foresight prism height is changed between measurement sets to ensure at least two independent observations.
Specifications that were developed by the National Geodetic Survey for geodetic leveling have been adapted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the purpose of developing standards for trigonometric leveling, which are identified as USGS Trigonometric Level I (TL I), USGS Trigonometric Level II (TL II), USGS Trigonometric Level III (TL III), and USGS Trigonometric Level IV (TL IV). TL I, TL II, and TL III surveys have a combination of first, second, and third geodetic leveling specifications that have been modified for plane leveling. The TL III category also has specifications that are adapted from construction-grade standards, which are not recognized by the National Geodetic Survey for geodetic leveling. A TL IV survey represents a leveling approach that does not generally meet criteria of a TL I, TL II, or TL III survey.

This presentation will demonstrate how to set up an RTK base to broadcast GNSS corrections out over a static IP address. This method is useful when a realtime network is not available and field conditions are not conducive to traditional radio-link RTK base corrections. This presentation will also include a brief use case of how this method was used in tandem with satellite internet for use at a remote gaging station with no cellular coverage.

This presentation will cover the essential issues for those involved in the groundwater sampling effort for the National Water Quality Network. Some field sampling issues will be discussed. However, the focus will be on the cycle of management and the importance of the steps needed to maintain the networks at optimal size, provide timely flow of data, and how the various forms and data provided by the sampling crews are used. The presentation will discuss these issues from the user's perspective so that the sampling crews have a better understanding of the essential steps to ensuring the health and longevity of the network to evaluate groundwater quality trends in the nation.

One day you're using cool tools in the field, the next day you are a field office chief or data chief being asked to do the no fun business aspects of the job. Funding gaging networks is a complicated business including: gaging costs, cooperator negotiations, agreement signatures, accounting, and budgeting. The USGS WMA has several tools including Site Funding Tracking Application (SiFTA) to assist with and standardize these business operations. Several tools and workflows will be presented as a short introduction to managing the funding aspects of gage operations. Target audience is current and prospective field office chiefs / data chiefs and LDMs.

Come learn about the NWIS Time-Series and Discrete Data Workflows! This presentation on the NWIS Workflows Assessment and Improvement Project will show how the establishment of a "national consensus" workflow will help both the Water Science Centers and the NWIS Modernization program. Time-series workflows have recently been shared as standardized workflows capturing the "national consensus" workflow. Let's work together to find the "national consensus" workflow for discrete data. WSCs and YOU will benefit from Water Enterprise solutions that support more efficient, lean tools associated with "national consensus" workflows. NWIS Modernization will gain focus and energy behind key investments identified with the help from our WSCs and this project team.

An overview of Superfly, the nationally supported electronic field form. The Superfly team will explain the new versions of superfly and how it has been adapted to fit new systems, such as AQS+. The Superfly team will demo how to modify the output of Superfly, review and output Superfly batch files, and customize Superfly for individual projects. Users will be able to see the form in action for common workflows, ask questions and learn about the future of Superfly. A Q&A session will occur at the end for suggestions for future improvements of Superfly.”

This session will cover various aspects of the USGS PFAS sampling strategy.
It will include the development of the strategy and results from preliminary evaluations in cleaning protocols, material selection and techniques.
Target audience: Staff who are collecting discrete water-quality samples for PFAS analysis.

This is an overview of the USGS Storm-Tide Monitoring Program. The topics discussed will be the history of the program, data collection and dissemination of the data. There will also be a discussion on new sensors and technologies.

This discussion will focus on best practices for Real-Time GNSS surveys, using Real-Time Networks and local radio-linked base stations for kinematic observations. Part of this discussion will highlight the process of evaluating uncertainty.

Tips and tricks to HWM data collection in various environments. The presentation will go into detail on HWM preservation, collection and documentation.

This presentation will be an introduction for those interested in using cameras in their monitoring networks. Applications for imagery, site considerations, selecting a camera system, and a NIMS/HIVIS overview will be discussed with examples from VA/WV WSC and other USGS stations. An emphasis will be on Vivotek network camera and Sierra Wireless modem systems and game/trail cameras. We will also discuss how to add cameras and batch upload images in NIMS Admin Console for control monitoring or other useful applications.

A combined point cloud of about 85.6 million points was collected during 27 scans of a section of the western shoreline along the Shinnecock Peninsula of Suffolk County, New York, to document baseline geospatial conditions during July and October 2022 using a scanning total station. The three-dimensional accuracy of the combined point cloud is assessed to identify potential systematic error sources associated with the surveying equipment and the novel methodology used to collect and field-register (data are oriented and aligned in real time) point cloud data. The accuracy of the combined point cloud was assessed in terms of relative and absolute reference frames. Relative accuracy provides a measure of error within the local coordinate system and is determined by combining the uncertainty associated with the position of the scan station (the point being occupied by the scanning total station during the scan), the uncertainty associated with the position of the network control points, and the uncertainty associated with the laser of the scanning total station. Assessment of the absolute accuracy includes these three potential error sources combined with the uncertainty associated with the geodetic coordinates to which the local control network is referenced. The combined overall relative horizontal and vertical accuracy of the point cloud is 0.0156 and 0.0241 meter, respectively, at the 95 percent confidence level; the combined overall absolute horizontal and vertical accuracy of the point cloud is 0.0374 and 0.0733 meter, respectively, at the 95 percent confidence level.
A second survey was conducted during March 2023 following a substantial erosion event associated with (unnamed) Winter Storm “Elliot” (weather channel assigned this unofficial name). A bare-earth digital elevation model was then created of “pre-storm” (1st survey) and “post-storm” (2nd survey) conditions. The pre-storm, bare-earth DEM, was then compared with the post-storm DEM to detect topographic (and shallow bathymetric) change along the western shoreline and determine areas/features that are most susceptible to erosion during a major coastal storm event. The distribution and magnitude of erosion and deposition, and potential volume changes, will be disseminated in a USGS scientific report.

The USGS frequently uses external laboratories for analyses of discrete water-quality samples. For example, if a cooperator is interested in a constituent that the National Water Quality Lab (NWQL) does not analyze, the project team may identify a suitable laboratory that performs this analysis. However, if an external lab is not contracted through the NWQL, specific data management and approval procedures must be considered. Use of a non-contracted external lab may require staff to upload sample results to the National Water Information System (NWIS), and possibly complete the USGS’s formal laboratory evaluation process (LEP).

In this presentation, we will show an example workflow describing data management, LEP document preparation, QA/QC evaluation, and uploading results to WDFN through the USGS batch data loader (BDL). This workflow was developed by the California WSC Biogeochemistry (BGC) Group and uses scripting in both Python and R, and a Tableau data visualization tool to manage and evaluate external laboratory data. These tools have helped us streamline our process, saving time and reducing transcription errors. We receive numerous data files from external laboratories, and this workflow has increased the efficiency of publishing our data in NWIS. Other Centers could likely incorporate the tools we developed into their own processes to further enhance workflows for evaluating and using external laboratories.

The California Water Science Center’s Estuarine Hydrodynamics team works in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (the Delta) and faces two main challenges with tying water level to datum. Challenges include: 1) long distances between land and gage infrastructure on pilings in the river (sometimes ~300m+). This makes it virtually impossible to use traditional leveling techniques. 2) land movement. The Delta is comprised of human-made levee systems that are susceptible to significant movement due to the organic soils of the region. Couple this with the movement of a given gage’s piling and it becomes extremely time consuming and costly to determine the accuracy of the water level’s data tied to datum.
The solution? Automate static GNSS surveys on every gage every week. We use a single board computer (SBC), GNSS Survey Grade Receiver, cellular modem, and datalogger to conduct a 12-hour static survey once per week. Once the survey is complete, the SBC packages the raw data, converts those data to a format the National Geodetic Survey’s Online Position User Service (OPUS) can ingest and then sends the converted file off to the USGS sFTP server as well as OPUS. Once the OPUS corrections have been made, we receive an email containing the corrected data and metadata and can then relate those data to our water level with much more confidence.

A first look at the data coming out of the 50 new image velocimetry gages in New York is presented, including initial impressions of issues and successes, and comparison to select concurrent conventional measurements

This information is intended for a presentation, rather than a training course.
Multiple techniques are being used in two Colorado reservoir systems (the Three Lakes System near Granby, Colorado, and Blue Mesa Reservoir near Gunnison, Colorado) to monitor Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). The techniques are continuous monitoring of fluorescence of total chlorophyll and phycocyanin, discrete sampling for chlorophyll-a and algal taxonomy, and construction of satellite (Sentinel 2) models mapping chlorophyll-a concentrations. In the presentation we will compare the results of the different monitoring techniques with the timing of HABs in the reservoirs. The different techniques have different utility in each of the reservoirs and used in combination help track the occurrence of HABs throughout the ice-free season.

This will walk the audience through how FRGS is being used in datum conversion at gaging stations. The presenter will use FRGS in real-time to demonstrate how FRGS interacts with the NGS database to begin planning for the campaign. Documentation of GNSS data collection in the field will be simulated. The presentation will conclude with a demonstration of how to use FRGS to assess the uncertainty of the GNSS survey and apply vertical adjustments. (If time allows, I will show an example of the tracking sheet that we use in SAWSC to pass datum metadata from the surveyor to a reviewer, and finally to our LDM)

A dynamic rating method called DYNPOUND, which accommodates compound and compact channel geometry, was developed to model hysteresis. From a pure hydrodynamics perspective, all rivers and streams have some form of hysteresis (loop effect) in the relation between stage and discharge because of unsteady flow as a flood wave passes. This dynamic rating method is capable of capturing hysteresis caused by variable energy slope, which is a result of unsteady momentum and pressure. The method and graphical user interface (GUI), which were written in the Python programming language, will be demonstrated. The GUI is intended for use by hydrographers to develop and validate ratings for complex sites. This presentation will briefly discuss the background, application, and workflow to operationalize the dynamic rating method for a gage.

With the recent launch of AQUARIUS Samples (AQS), there is massive opportunity to grow our water quality workflows. AQS has been launched with an eye towards extensibility through the Discrete Samples Extensibility Tools (DSET), Data Hub Data Warehouse with Dremio, and the Data Hub Service Mesh. The USGS-built extensibility endpoints, along with the native Application Programming Interface offered by AQS itself, makes it easier than ever to build sophisticated data flows to support a wide variety of water quality workflows. This presentation will share what is known about the product roadmap for AQS so that people considering building tooling in the new AQS+ space can plan how to invest resources wisely and so that all users know what to expect from the product now that ASIP is closed.

Overview of Turbidity basics including theory, calibration and measurement of turbidity.

This presentation will present initial results of the recent Federal Priority Streamgage (FPS) Network Open Season, with a first look at the new network design of eligible locations based upon discussions from multiple federal partners.