Inferring Surface Flow Velocities in Sediment-Laden Alaskan Rivers from Optical Image Sequences Acquired from a Helicopter

The remote, inaccessible location of many rivers in Alaska creates a compelling need for remote sensing approaches to streamflow monitoring. Motivated by this objective, we evaluated the potential to infer flow velocities from optical image sequences acquired from a helicopter deployed above two large, sediment-laden rivers. Rather than artificial seeding, we used an ensemble correlation particle image velocimetry (PIV) algorithm to track the movement of boil vortices that upwell suspended sediment and produce a visible contrast at the water surface. This study introduced a general, modular workflow for image preparation (stabilization and geo-referencing), preprocessing (filtering and contrast enhancement), analysis (PIV), and postprocessing (scaling PIV output and assessing accuracy via comparison to field measurements). Applying this method to images acquired with a digital mapping camera and an inexpensive video camera highlighted the importance of image enhancement and the need to resample the data to an appropriate, coarser pixel size and a lower frame rate. We also developed a Parameter Optimization for PIV (POP) framework to guide selection of the interrogation area (IA) and frame rate for a particular application. POP results indicated that the performance of the PIV algorithm was highly robust and that relatively large IAs (64-320 pixels) and modest frame rates (0.5-2 Hz) yielded strong agreement (R2>0.9) between remotely sensed velocities and field measurements. Similarly, analysis of the sensitivity of PIV accuracy to image sequence duration showed that dwell times as short as 16 s would be sufficient at a frame rate of 1 Hz and could be cut in half if the frame rate were doubled. The results of this investigation indicate that helicopter-based remote sensing of velocities in sediment-laden rivers could contribute to noncontact streamgaging programs and enable reach-scale mapping of flow fields.