Low-cost stage-camera system for continuous water-level monitoring in ephemeral streams

Noto, Simone; Tauro, Flavia; Petroselli, Andrea; Apollonio, Ciro; Botter, Gianluca; Grimaldi, Salvatore

doi:10.1080/02626667.2022.2079415

Cited by 31 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…A similar method has also been proposed for the monitoring of non-perennial streams (Kaplan et al, 2019). The stage-camera system proposed in Noto et al (2022) and Tauro et al (2022) were tested at node 34 of the actual monitoring network and then, the camera network was installed. The cameras selected for this application were the same ones of the referenced works.…”

Section: The Camera Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing Space‐Time Channel Network Dynamics in a Mediterranean Intermittent Catchment of Central Italy Combining Visual Surveys and Cameras

Noto,

Durighetto,

Tauro

et al. 2024

Water Resources Research

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Non‐perennial streams have a global prevalence, but quantitative knowledge of the temporal dynamics of their flowing length—namely the extent of the wet portion of the stream network—remains limited, as the monitoring of the spatiotemporal configuration of wet channels is challenging in most settings. This work combines the high spatial resolution of visual surveys and the high temporal resolution of camera‐based approaches to reconstruct the space‐time stream network dynamics in a 3.7 km2 Mediterranean catchment of central Italy. Information on the hydrological status of the stream network derived from 40 field surveys and sub‐hourly images collected with 21 stage‐cameras are combined exploiting the hierarchical principle. The latter postulates the existence of a Bayesian chain, defined from the local persistence of the nodes that dictates their wetting/drying order during expansion/retraction cycles of the flowing stream network. Our results highlight the complexity of network dynamics in the study area: while the number of wet nodes decreases during the dry season and increases during the wet season, the local persistency exhibits a highly heterogeneous non‐monotonic spatial pattern, originating a dynamically disconnected network. Despite this heterogeneity, the hierarchical model well approximates the temporal evolution of the state of the network nodes, with an accuracy that exceeds 99%. Crucially, the model allows the reconstruction of the wet portion even in cases in which part of the network was not observed. This work provides a novel conceptual approach for the reconstruction of the wet portion of the network in poorly accessible sites.

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Section: The Camera Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing Space‐Time Channel Network Dynamics in a Mediterranean Intermittent Catchment of Central Italy Combining Visual Surveys and Cameras

Noto,

Durighetto,

Tauro

et al. 2024

Water Resources Research

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“…In this vein, the OpenRiverCam initiative is an open-source and low cost web-software stack with API to establish and maintain river rating curves in small to medium sized streams based on LSPIV [10]. Further initiatives aimed at creating a network of monitoring stations for streamflow monitoring include [11], where simple camera setups enable water level estimations in the upland area of a headwater river basin.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Deployment of Out-of-the-Box Embedded Devices for Self-Powered River Surface Flow Velocity Monitoring at the Edge

et al. 2021

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As reported in the recent image velocimetry literature, tracking the motion of sparse feature points floating on the river surface as done by the Optical Tracking Velocimetry (OTV) algorithm is a promising strategy to address surface flow monitoring. Moreover, the lightweight nature of OTV coupled with computational optimizations makes it suited even for its deployment in situ to perform measurements at the edge with cheap embedded devices without the need to perform offload processing. Despite these notable achievements, the actual practical deployment of OTV in remote environments would require cheap and self-powered systems enabling continuous measurements without the need for cumbersome and expensive infrastructures rarely found in situ. Purposely, in this paper, we propose an additional simplification to the OTV algorithm to reduce even further its computational requirements, and we analyze self-powered off-the-shelf setups for in situ deployment. We assess the performance of such set-ups from different perspectives to determine the optimal solution to design a cost-effective self-powered measurement node.

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“…Monitoring intermittent and ephemeral streams is a significant challenge in hydrology in terms of collecting accurate and continuous data at different spatial and time scales (Davids et al, 2017;Strobl et al, 2020;Noto et al, 2022). Difficult-to-access-environments and unstable riverbed conditions represent a significant portion of upstream areas hindering continuous and accurate hydrologic data acquisition using traditional instruments, such as remote sensing and river gauging stations (Ilja Van Meerveld et al, 2017;Seibert et al, 2019;Noto et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On a technological level, Noto et al (2022) designed and developed a stage-camera system for monitoring water levels in ungauged headwater streams by means of an image-based approach. This method was implemented with a simple, white-painted steel pole to estimate water depth as compared to the out-of-water pole segment displayed (Noto et al, 2022). This stage-camera system allows the acquisition of stream images at regular temporal intervals of 20 minutes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the theoretical principles of citizen science in monitoring stream water levels through photo-trap frames

et al. 2023

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IntroductionMonitoring water levels of ephemeral streams is a difficult yet important task in hydrology, especially when studying minor river flows in remote areas. The installation of flow gauging stations on upstream tributaries is impacted by the lack of economic resources, by accessibility problems and unstable morphological conditions of riverbeds avoiding the implementation of distributed observation networks at large scales. This major challenge in hydrology may be addressed by eventually adopting image-analysis approaches that constitute an effective parsimonious river flow monitoring method, but the demonstration of such techniques is still an open research topic.MethodologyThis study focuses on the testing of a novel technique that employs a white pole “staff gauge” to be photographed using a phototrap (i.e., named stage-cam which is a high-speed camera trigger system). This technology shows to be particularly efficient for observing flood events that represent the most difficult scenario for streamflow monitoring. Furthermore, the testing of this innovative hydrological data-gathering method is performed by adopting citizen science and participatory image analysis to assess the value and effectiveness of non-expert volunteers to operationalize this novel method. Citizen engagement may be essential for supporting distributed flow monitoring supporting large scale image analysis algorithm calibration associated to a continuous series of phototrap images. The Montecalvello watershed, located near Rome, is selected for this pilot case study.ResultsResults of the conducted tests, involving the University of Tuscia student community, are presented toward the demonstration of the effectiveness of citizen science to collect valid quantitative hydrological observations, which may correlate consistently with expert estimates. To better interpret results, the authors consider mean absolute error (MAE) and mean absolute relative error (MARE) as synthetic indices to determine the uncertainties associated to voluntary observations. Low margins of error return positive feedback on the adopted methodology.DiscussionThis research promotes the use of participatory approaches for addressing an actual hydrological monitoring challenge. In addition, it fosters increased citizen knowledge and awareness of the importance and value of hydrological monitoring of small ungauged river basins.

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Low-cost stage-camera system for continuous water-level monitoring in ephemeral streams

Cited by 31 publications

References 62 publications

Characterizing Space‐Time Channel Network Dynamics in a Mediterranean Intermittent Catchment of Central Italy Combining Visual Surveys and Cameras

Characterizing Space‐Time Channel Network Dynamics in a Mediterranean Intermittent Catchment of Central Italy Combining Visual Surveys and Cameras

On the Deployment of Out-of-the-Box Embedded Devices for Self-Powered River Surface Flow Velocity Monitoring at the Edge

Testing the theoretical principles of citizen science in monitoring stream water levels through photo-trap frames

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