ABSTRACT

The Genessee River, which flows through the city of Rochester in New York state (United States of America), was the subject of a multi-scale remote sensing study. High temporal and spatial resolution visible imagery was collected near the Ford Street Bridge from a stationary platform located on the bridge and near-simultaneous spectral polarimetric imagery data were also collected from a Twin Otter airplane. The images were analyzed using a two-dimensional power spectral density algorithm. Near surface velocity profiles and free surface turbulent statistics are captured upstream and downstream of the bridge support columns and the influence of the columns on the free surface flow field and turbulence field are studied. The interaction of the canonical streamwise counter-rotating structures, typically found in open channel flows, with wake vortices are also investigated. Implications for remote predictions of scouring, bed shear stress and volumetric discharge are discussed.