Engineering >> Civil & Environmental EngineeringMeasuring Discharge of Riversby Adam Gebarin
Submitted : Fall 2011 Rivers are standardized by their discharge and stage. By recording the discharge and stage over time, we can better understand the magnitude and intensities of rivers and streams. We also receive a better understanding of what preparations need to be made and precautions that may need to be made. Stage is an easy measure that can be made with simple tools and structures. Discharge, however, requires calculation and constant work to record. We need two components to measure discharge, a cross sectional area that will be the region tested for its discharge, and the average velocity at that given area. This is done using the definition of integration; finding the sums on sectioned areas along the region. With a series of simple calculations, we can extract an area from what was a complex and almost unidentifiable line. And with the information to identify the cross sectional area, we can multiply that by the average velocity and record the discharge of the river. From there, we can create rating curves, equate estimated electric outputs, plan for extra environmental fortification; there are numerous resources that can be used from using simple integration to find what was once too difficult to calculate with simple area formulas. Related Links:
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