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The US Geological Survey maintains a network
of stream monitoring stations across the United States. These
stations continuously monitor the stage and discharge of a stream
and report that data back to USGS through a satellite communication
system. (Stage is the height of the water above a reference
elevation and discharge is the quantity of water flowing past
a given point in a unit of time.) The USGS has thousands of
stream monitoring stations. Each dot on the map below represents
one of those stations. Many of these stations also monitor rainfall
and report that information to the internet through a network
of satellites, modems and computers.
The graph below is a stream stage hydrograph.
A hydrograph is a graph that shows the behavior of a water body
over time. This hydrograph shows how the stage of Pine Creek,
near Cedar Run, Pennsylvania changed between July 7th, 2004
and July 14, 2004. Notice how a rainfall event on the evening
of July 7th and morning of July 8th caused an increase in the
stage of the stream. Also note how the stream slowly decreased
in stage over the next few days. Monitoring stream stage is
very important work because the information can be used for
a wide range of business, recreational, safety, and environmental
decisions.
Some streams are partially controlled by people
instead of by nature. The hydrograph below shows the stage of
the Tioga River near Tioga, Pennsylvania during the same rainfall
event. This monitoring station is immediately below a flood
control reservoir and the stage here is determined by the amount
of water being left through the gates of the reservoir at any
given time. Notice how the stage of the stream changed quickly
as the reservoir manager changed the size of the gate openings.
Your task in this assignment is to visit the
USGS
Real-Time Water Data System and explore the data available
for streams in an area where you live, work or have fun. This
system allows you to check the stage and discharge of thousands
of streams and rivers across the United States. You will probably
be surprised when you find that a stream where you live, fish,
swim, or boat has a monitoring station that sends a continuous
record of data to the internet.
You will then select one of the stream monitoring
stations for a report. Your report should be a neatly word-processed
document that includes all the following information for the
monitoring station that you have selected:
- the location of the monitoring station
- a detailed explanation (in your own words) of why monitoring
this stream an important enough task for USGS to spend valuable
time and resources
- a list of possible uses for the stage and discharge data
(for each use you should include the types of people, businesses
or organizations who would use the information)
Be sure to give a clear explanation of the items above and
proofread your report for content and clarity.
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