Stream Flow Homework

Department of Earth Science |Northeastern Illinois University

INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SCIENCE
ESCI 121
Section 05
Fall 2008
How Much Water Flows Down the Stream?                                                                                                           Dr. Sanders

Due at the beginning of class November 20, 2008)

In this homework assignment, you will locate and print out one year's worth of stream discharge data for a stream gage in Illinois.   We will work with the data in class to try to learn more about watersheds.

1) FIND THE SOURCE OF ILLINOIS STREAM GAGE DATA

Keep a map of Illinois handy--a road map of Illinois, or one of the maps in the classroom. Go to the USGS web site http://water.usgs.gov/. Take these steps:
    * Under "NWIS Web Water Data", click "Surface Water".
    * In the fourth paragraph under "Introduction", click the link for "Daily Streamflow Data".
    * Under "Site Location", click "State/Territory", and then click "Submit.
    * Under "State/Territory", select "Illinois".
    * Scroll down, and near the bottom of the page, under "Choose Output Format", select "Table of sites sorted by SITE NAME grouped by HYDROLOGIC UNIT" (you will have to select the words "Site Name" and "Hydrologic Unit" from the dropdown menus.)
    * Finally, scroll down a little further and click the "Submit" button.

This will give you a list of all the stream gages in Illinois.

2) BROWSE THE DATA AVAILABLE ON THE WEB

Pick any stream gage, and click on the Site Number. This will take you to a site specifically for that particular gage. For each gage, it gives you numerous pieces of information about the watershed (also called drainage basin). Get to know the watershed by going to the area near the top titled "Available data for this site" and selecting such choices as "Site Map", "Summary of All Available Data", and "EPA Surf Your Watershed" (you may have to click GO to visit these pages).

3) SELECT A STREAM AND GAGE

Choose a stream and gage that seem interesting to you. Try to pick a stream and gage that nobody else in the class will choose!

4) RECORD IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE GAGE

Find and record (to hand in) the following information:

    a. Stream name

    b. Location of gaging station (the town/city, the county, and the latitude/longitude)

    c. Drainage area (square miles) (found on the "Summary of All Available Data")

d. Site maps: larger scale map giving the general location in Illinois, and smaller scale map giving the location of the gage on the stream (select "Site Map"). Print in black and white or in color; either is acceptable.

    e. Write this sentence, filling in the blanks: "This gage has been collecting Daily Data from ________[date]____ to _______[date]_____." (To find this information, under "Available data for this site", click "Time Series: Daily Data"--and GO, if needed. Look for the dates next to "Discharge".)

5) COLLECT ONE YEAR'S WORTH OF DISCHARGE DATA

On the "Available Data for this Site" menu, click "Time Series: Daily Data" (and GO, if needed). In the box under "Available Parameters", make sure "Discharge" is clicked, and all the others are UNclicked. Under "Output Format", click "Table".

Choose a one-year time period--long ago, recent, or anything in between! Go to the boxes for "Begin date" and "End date", and enter the beginning and end of a one-year period. Be sure to use the correct format (YYYY-MM-DD). Also, be sure that the dates you enter fall within the time period you wrote in the blanks in part 4e ! (If you get an error message, that's probably where the problem is.)

Click GO. Print the list (it may be several pages long). Bring your data to class with you.

Department of Earth Science | Northeastern Illinois University