A drone could help measure dangerous floodwater while the crew stays safely back.
I'm Bennett Blackwood.
At Brandywine Creek in Delaware, U.S. Geological Survey technicians are testing an overhead camera against measurements taken in the stream. The camera tracks movement on the water's surface. Comparing that with established instruments helps the team check how well the new method works. It's part of the Next Generation Water Observing System, developing better ways to understand rivers.
Nicholas Giro · original USGS recorded audio: Using, like I said, these non-contact methods has been an efficient method for collecting more data safely. I know working in a very urban landscape, some of these streams, the velocities are just too much for our equipment to handle and some of our traditional methods have been unsafe to measure with or they just have not been adequate.
This is still testing, not a promise that a drone can replace every river gauge. The potential payoff is safer measurements during extreme events, and better information about the water communities depend on. Good stories every day. Follow Carpe Diem News.
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