Images

Gaging station S-5517 in Suffolk County with DCP for groundwater well collecting real-time data

USGS hydrologist Amy Simonson making a discharge measurement with a flowtracker in a Long Island stream.

Rain gage on Long Island

A buoy warning of the under-bay sewage treatment plant pipeline appears to guide the AUV on its course; confirming that the AUV’s position is accurate. The AUV uses a differential global positioning system (GPS) receiver and bottom-tracking Doppler velocimetry log (DVL) to maintain position.

Retrieval and Results

Processed data are exported to two- and three- dimensional mapping applications to visualize water-quality distributions.  Combined with observed water currents and bathymetric contours, this allows for an integrated analysis of the system under investigation.

The AUV travels along the under-bay section of the Bergen Point Sewage Treatment Plant outfall pipe in Babylon, NY. The goal is to see if changes in surrounding water-quality suggest potential leaks in the aging infrastructure.

This autonomous instrument reduces the time and manpower traditionally needed for manned-boat surveys. Because geologic, biologic, hydraulic, and chemical data are collected simultaneously; the datasets allow for a systems-based approach to analysis.

If the vehicle becomes stuck or disabled at depth, a hydrophone can be used to locate the submerged instrument. When at the surface, the AUV can send its retrieval location to a web server or cell phone.

USGS Scientists launching an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)

The AUV navigates to its starting position before diving to a fixed distance off the seabed to measure dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Great South Bay, Long Island, NY.  The goal is to document the spatial extent of low dissolved oxygen concentrations, or hypoxia, to identify the best habitat for juvenile hard clam survival.

Groundwater-level Monitoring for Characterization of Hydraulic Connections in the Basal Sand & Gravel Aquifer, Hoosic River Valley, Hoosick Falls, New York

Small fish from Adirondack Stream

Brook trout collected from an Adirondack stream

 Mud rotary drilling of an observation well in Locust Valley, New York

USGS hydrologists Irene Fisher and Michael Como sample water quality on Long Island.

Measuring discharge with ADCP on the Mohawk River, NY

Measuring discharge with ADCP on Mohawk River

Long Island coastline

Boat marina on Long Island coast

Sim Rivera demonstrating a groundwater model to children at the Shinnecock Nation Earth Day outreach event.

USGS Hydrologist Travis Smith makes a wading (section-by-section) discharge measurement at Moyer Creek stream gauging station near Frankfort,  NY  to allow for better estimates of streamflow during ice-affected periods in winter.