Images

A highly skilled hydrologic technician maintains monitoring equipment in the Columbia River at Vancouver, WA. They are climbing a structure called a "dolphin". In maritime terms, a dolphin is a cluster of pilings driven into the riverbed, often used for mooring or as a base for a light or sign. This dolphin also secures USGS equipment critical for flow monitoring.

Green Peter Reservoir drawn down to a free-flowing stream channel winding through muddy sediment.

This high flow measurement on the Deschutes River near Culver, OR was the highest measurement since 2017. This site (# 14076500) is operated in cooperation with Portland General Electric.

A highly skilled hydrologic technician takes a flow measurement by kayaking an Acoustic Doppler Current Profilier (ADCP) across the channel. The ADCP uses sound waves to measure water speed and depth, to calculate flow volumes.

This year’s USGS participation in the University of Oregon Hydrology Field Camp was another success, thanks to strong support from our Eugene Field Office. In this photo, students take notes during a demonstration of meteorological (MET) station equipment led by a USGS hydrologic technician.

This year’s USGS participation in the University of Oregon Hydrology Field Camp was another success, thanks to strong support from our Eugene Field Office. In this photo, students get a chance to examine commonly used fieldwork equipment.

USGS field crew bends a pipe during the installation of a 6 PPD-Q monitoring system. The pipe will reach down into the storm drain to enable sample collection.

USGS Researchers stand by a heavy-duty enclosure that will house an autosampler and other equipment needed for monitoring 6PPD-Q.

Hydrologic technicians during field work maintaining the Detroit Lake water-quality profiler. 

Hydrologic technician during field work maintaining the Blue River Lake water-quality profiler. 

Hydrologic technicians survey the Willamette River at Portland’s streamflow gage datum. Every streamgage measures water levels (gage height) relative to a datum, a fixed elevation chosen to ensure consistent, long-term measurements.

ORWSC’s Klamath Falls Field Office staff departing our previous building after more than 20 years. The team worked hard to complete the ambitious move during the busy summer field season. 

The Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the people, has a lighting system with 178 lights illuminating 40 bridge cables that span the bridge. The colorful lighting is synced with U.S.

USGS hydrologist Patrick Haluska prepares to collect side-scan sonar data as part of the Klamath Integrated Water Availability Assessments program's dam removal studies.

Klamath River Basin straddles northern California and southern Oregon. The Klamath River empties into the Pacific Ocean just below the Oregon/California border.

Water availability in the Klamath Basin is shaped by three interconnected factors, like overlapping circles in a Venn diagram. First, upper basin controls—such as groundwater, snowpack, and runoff—determine how much water is available. Second, biological opinions set flow requirements to protect endangered fish and habitats, including flushing and geomorphic flows.

Wildlife sightings are the best job perks! Fish swim around in the Willamette River beneath the Morrison Bridge dolphin.

A routine field visit at the Bull Run River at Lower Flume near Brightwood, Oregon (14138720). The U.S. Geological Survey operates several streamgages and monitoring stations throughout the Bull Run watershed.

Hydrologic Technician snapped a photo from inside a boat as they pulled up to inspect water-quality instruments in Upper Klamath Lake. To ensure data quality, sensors are regularly exchanged for freshly calibrated and cleaned replacements.

This floating platform in Upper Klamath Lake is home to two seasonal water-quality instruments. The instruments are positioned to capture data one meter below the lake surface and one meter above the lake bottom.

Rain or shine our scientists get out in the field to collect eDNA data that could indicate mussel presence. Immediately after a rain event the eDNA in a river may be more dilute than a sample taken after several dry sunny days.