Video Short: Data Collection at USGS Gaging Station: Prado Dam, Corona, CA (Unedited)

After February 2024's record-breaking rain in Southern and Central California, our SonTek Application experts, Dr. Xue Fan and Isaac Jones, teamed up with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrographers and Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers at Prado Dam in Riverside County. Together, they tackled the challenge of collecting data during exceptionally high water release from the dam to verify USGS rating curves for this site.
Despite facing daunting conditions, including high sediment-laden water, heavy turbulence, and foamy conditions, the team persisted. After experimenting with several ADCP options, they decided to deploy the compact SonTek RS5. Mounted on the large HydroBoard with insert, the RS5 surpassed expectations, capturing enough data to provide accurate measurements even in the most challenging circumstances.
Following four transects, the RS5 proved incredibly precise, aligning well with the USGS gage rating. This success was a game-changer for the team, who had struggled for three days prior. The results were verified with a SonTek M9 using the Mid-section (Stationary) method and depth information from the RS5 in areas where depth data was unavailable from other ADCPs. Thanks to the RS5, they left the site with two proper measurements, a testament to both their perseverance and the effectiveness of SonTek technology. The last time USGS measured higher than this day at this site was in 2005.
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Video credit: Dr. Xue Fan

[@riverboard]

love the maxie board! when will the foam insert become standard?

[@micahandpennydodge3154]

What did the Q, A, and meanV end up being across all transects?
I am just interested in the quality of output across a range of conditions, it is cool to be able to have some of that real-world evidence of performance in high velocity etc. for the RS5 and get a good understanding of the conditions it can handle in the right platform and flow setting.
Also, were there any user-defined settings used in terms of cell size etc?

[@Isaac-sg4rh]

Good question Micah. From the four measurement transects collected here are the means: Q=7,357 cfs; A=745.5 ft^2; Mean Speed (Q/A)= 9.9 ft/s.
The default auto-adaptive (SmartPulse+) settings were used for the measurement.

[@Ghazoline1988]

woohoo very nice