New acoustic system for continuous measurement of river discharge and water temperature

In many cases, river discharge is indirectly estimated from water level or streamflow velocity near the water surface. However, these methods have limited applicability. In this study, an innovative system, the fluvial acoustic tomography system (FATS), was used for continuous discharge measurement. Transducers with a central frequency of 30 kHz were installed diagonally across the river. The system’s significant functions include accurate measurement of the travel time of the transmission signal using a GPS clock and the attainment of a high signal-to-noise ratio as a result of modulation of the signal by the 10th order M-sequence. In addition, FATS is small and lightweight, and its power consumption is low. Operating in unsteady streamflow, FATS successfully measured the cross-sectional average velocity. The agreement between FATS and acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) on water discharge was satisfactory. Moreover, the temporal variation of the cross-sectional average temperature deduced from the sound speed of FATS was similar to that measured by a temperature sensor near the bank.