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The links in Section 3.1 show up-to-the-minute
discharge at USGS and Army Corp of Engineers stream gauges. The
procedure described above is too cumbersome to provide such data,
instead it is derived from constant stream level (stage) monitoring
using ``Stilling wells'' (Fig. 3.9), from which
discharge is estimated using a ``rating curve''
(Fig. 3.10) for that site. The rating curve is derived by using the
procedure we'll use in this lab for a variety of discharge levels.
Figure 3.9:
Schematic of stream water level monitoring station (after
Fig. 3.17, Sanders, 1998). The configuration shown is known as a ``Stilling
well'', most stations simply have a PVC tube in place of the well.
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Figure 3.10:
Example
rating curve for a stream gauging station (after Fig. 3.22,
Sanders, 1998). Given measurements of discharge at various river
levels (stage), the rating curve can be obtained and used to estimate
dischage given a stage measurement.x
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GEOS 3110 Professor's Notes, Summer 2003
Dr. T. Brikowski, UTD