Field measurements of flow velocity and optical image sequences acquired from the Salcha and Tanana Rivers in Alaska in 2018 and 2019 and used for particle image velocimetry (PIV)

This data release includes field measurements of flow velocity and optical image sequences used to derive remotely sensed estimates of surface flow velocities via particle image velocimetry (PIV) from two rivers in Alaska. These data were acquired from the Salcha River on August 31, 2018, and the Tanana River on July 24, 2019. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of inferring flow velocities from optical image sequences acquired from a helicopter hovering above each river by tracking water surface features via various PIV algorithms and to develop a modular workflow for performing this type of analysis. Remote sensing of flow velocity could provide a more efficient, cost-effective alternative to conventional field-based methods of measuring velocity and become an important component of non-contact approaches to streamgaging. This parent data release includes links to child pages for several data sets produced during the study: Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) field measurements of flow velocity from the Salcha River collected on August 31, 2018. ADCP field measurements of flow velocity from the Tanana River collected on July 24, 2019. High resolution optical image sequence acquired from the Salcha River on August 31, 2018, and used to perform PIV. High frame rate video acquired from the Tanana River on July 24, 2019, and used to perform PIV. Please refer to the individual child pages for further detail about each data set. Overall, these data were used to assess the potential to estimate surface flow velocities in sediment-laden rivers from helicopter-based, hovering image sequences using particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques.