Deploy and innovate with existing near-field non-contact surface velocity technologies. Enable and support appropriate use survey wide. Apply standard of quality the USGS stakes its name on.
About Us
During the past 3–4 years, staff from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Science Centers, the National Research Program (NRP), and the Office of Surface Water (OSW) began experimenting with and adapting some new surface velocity measurement technologies. Hoping to aid in national coordination, the OSW formed this work group on surface velocity measurements and their applications to Water Mission Area (WMA) programs. The Surface Velocity Workgroup (Surf Board, for short) aims to provide guidance to OSW that will likely lead to policy and procedure guidelines for the deployment and use of surface velocity methods Survey-wide. These novel techniques have a lot of potential to help the USGS move forward with new science. There are also a many pitfalls. A major goal of the Surf Board is to make the path forward clear for the USGS.
Who We Are
We are a group of (mostly) volunteers from USGS Water Science Centers (WSC) across the United States, along with several collaborating International partners. Within the USGS, we represent the DOI Unified Regions, with each of us taking responsibility as the point of contact for our regions, as indicated in the map and table below.
Name | Region | Org Unit/Location |
|---|---|---|
| Jeff Kinsey | Northeast | New England WSC |
Russ Lotspeich | Northeast | Virginia-West Virgina WSC |
Frank Engel | Chair, Southeast | Oklahoma-Texas WSC / WMA Hydrologic Remote Sensing Branch |
John Parks | Southeast | Caribbean-Florida WSC |
Allen Roberts | Southeast | Virginia-West Virgina WSC |
Elliot Sosa | Southeast | Office of the ACIO |
Josh Keele | Midcontinent | Central-Midwest WSC |
| Kevin Oberg | Midcontinent | Central-Midwest WSC / WMA Hydrologic Networks Branch |
John Fulton | Rocky Mountains | Colorado WSC |
Terry Kenney | Rocky Mountains | Office of Quality Assurance |
| Carl Legleiter | Rocky Mountains | Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory |
| Paul Kinzel | Rocky Mountains | Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory |
Jay Cederberg | Southwest | Arizona WSC |
| Heather Best | Northwest & Alaska | Alaska Science Center |
C. Marcelo Garcia | National Univ. of Córdoba | Córdoba, Argentina |
| Antoine Patalano | National Univ. of Córdoba | Córdoba, Argentina |
Elizabeth Jamieson | Environment and Climate Change Canada | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Muluken Yeheyis | Environment and Climate Change Canada | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
Alexandre Hauet | Electricity of France | Grenoble, France |
Our Purpose and Scope
Our group formed in 2016 to help guide the U.S Geological Survey in the application of Surface Velocity technologies for operational use (gaging mainly, but other uses too). We are working on Image Velocimetry and Velocity Radar applications. In short our purpose can be summarized as:
- Providing needed technical support and guidance on the application of surface velocity measurements: where and how do I use these technologies?
- Coordinating the evaluation and testing of new methods: how do we ensure efficiency, and that technical expertise is applied where needed?
- Communicating findings to Water Mission Area leads and USGS scientists: distill the message, distribute findings, cheerlead and advocate for proper use.
Read our full charter for further details: OSW Surf Board Charter
DOI employees can visit our DOI-internal SharePoint Site: Surfboard Information Hub