Reach-Scale Mapping of Surface Flow Velocities from Thermal Images Acquired by an Uncrewed Aircraft System along the Sacramento River, California, USA
Author:
Kinzel Paul J.1ORCID, Legleiter Carl J.1ORCID, Gazoorian Christopher L.2ORCID
Affiliation:
1. Observing Systems Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, CO 80403, USA 2. New York Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Troy, NY 12180, USA
Abstract
An innovative payload containing a sensitive mid-wave infrared camera was flown on an uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) to acquire thermal imagery along a reach of the Sacramento River, California, USA. The imagery was used as input for an ensemble particle image velocimetry (PIV) algorithm to produce near-continuous maps of surface flow velocity along a reach approximately 1 km in length. To assess the accuracy of PIV velocity estimates, in situ measurements of flow velocity were obtained with an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). ADCP measurements were collected along pre-planned cross-section lines within the area covered by the imagery. The PIV velocities showed good agreement with the depth-averaged velocity measured by the ADCP, with R2 values ranging from 0.59–0.97 across eight transects. Velocity maps derived from the thermal image sequences acquired on consecutive days during a period of steady flow were compared. These maps showed consistent spatial patterns of velocity vector magnitude and orientation, indicating that the technique is repeatable and robust. PIV of thermal imagery can yield velocity estimates in situations where natural water-surface textures or tracers are either insufficient or absent in visible imagery. Future work could be directed toward defining optimal environmental conditions, as well as limitations for mapping flow velocities based on thermal images acquired via UAS.
Funder
U.S. Geological Survey National Innovation Center National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Advanced Information Systems Technology program
Reference56 articles.
1. Conaway, J.S., Eggleston, J.R., Legleiter, C.J., Jones, J.W., Kinzel, P.J., and Fulton, J.W. (2019). Remote Sensing of Streamflow in Alaska Rivers—New Technology to Improve Safety and Expand Coverage of USGS Streamgaging, Fact Sheet 2019-3024. 2. A Framework for Estimating Global River Discharge From the Surface Water and Ocean Topography Satellite Mission;Durand;Water Resour. Res.,2023 3. Fulton, J.W., Mason, C.A., Eggleston, J.R., Nicotra, M.J., Chiu, C.L., Henneberg, M.F., Best, H.R., Cederberg, J.R., Holnbeck, S.R., and Lotspeich, R.R. (2020). Near-Field Remote Sensing of Surface Velocity and River Discharge Using Radars and the Probability Concept at 10 U.S. Geological Survey Streamgages. Remote Sens., 12. 4. Surface flow measurements from drones;Tauro;J. Hydrol.,2016 5. Peña-Haro, S., Carrel, M., Lüthi, B., Hansen, I., and Lukes, R. (2021). Robust Image-Based Streamflow Measurements for Real-Time Continuous Monitoring. Front. Water, 3.
|
|