Surface Water Studies

USGS has placed much of its surface water gauging data online using a Web-based tool called Streamstats. In this exercise, you will learn to use Streamstats to gather information about a study site. Ideally, this study site will be the same as the soil site you identified in Lesson 2. However, you will see that not all of the states have fully implemented this tool, so if you are from a state other than Pennsylvania and chose a soil site in that state, you may not be able to use Streamstats to evaluate your soil site. Read on.

Activity

Directions

1. Begin by visiting USGS Water Data for the Nation.
2. In upper left-hand corner select "Current Conditions" - see if the state where your soil study site is located (from our previous activity) is “Fully Implemented.” If it isn’t, choose a state that has fully implemented online data availability and use it for the remainder of this activity. Click on the state.
3. When you arrive at the state map you will see color-coded gauging stations plotted on the state map.
4. Begin to write a two-page report (described further in steps below) by answering the following questions (your responses will serve as the introduction for the report):
   • How does real-time streamflow in your state compare to historical data?
   • How does real-time streamflow in the gauging station nearest to your study site compare to historical data?
5. Identify the closest station to your study site. If you had to switch to another state in Step 3, then just pick a site of interest to you (explain why you chose it when writing up this part of the activity). Use the zoom function and you can use your cursor to hover over each site to learn the name and characteristics of the gauging station. If you click on the spot you can gather more information about the site, and if you click on the name of the site in that information box you will arrive at current conditions - and be able to determine what data is available from the site. What data is available from this nearest gauging station to your study site?
6. From the current conditions, plot as many data parameters as are available (up to 3) over a 60-day duration. Include the resulting plot(s) and describe your results in the report you began earlier in this activity. In your report, include responses to these questions:
   • Do any unusual events or anomalies exist in the data?
   • If so, to what do you attribute the anomalies?
7. Finally, go to Streamstats and visit and read the Documentation section.
8. Zoom in to the soil site you identified in Step 5 and delineate the drainage basin at the site and obtain the relevant information for your site.
9. As a third page to your report, include responses to the following questions along with a map of your basin:
   • What are the characteristics of your basin?
   • How do the flow data compare to the nearest gauging station?
   • To what do you attribute the similarity or difference (think about the location of your site relative to the nearest gauging station within the drainage network and basin).
10. Save your report as either a Microsoft Word or PDF file in the following format:

    L6_surfacewaterstudies_AccessAccountID_LastName.doc (or .pdf).

    For example, student Elvis Aaron Presley's file would be named "L6_surfacewaterstudies_eap1_presley.doc"—this naming convention is important, as it will help me make sure I match each submission up with the right student!

Grading criteria

You will be graded on the quality of your writing. You should not simply write responses to the questions and submit them to me. Instead plan on writing a short stand-alone paragraph (or page or whatever you decide is necessary considering any constraints I might have placed on you) so that anyone can read what you've written and understood it. You should strive to be specific and complete in responding to the questions. Your answers should be analytic, thoughtful and insightful, and should provide an insightful connection between ideas. The writing should be tight and crisp with varied sentence structure and a serious, professional tone.