This chapter establishes policies and procedures governing the acquisition, management, and operation of watercraft and equipment owned by the USGS or operated by USGS employees in the performance of assigned duties.

Moving-boat deployments include crewed boats, tethered boats, and remote-control boats. Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) are commonly deployed on moving boats to measure velocity distributions and discharge in oceans, estuaries, rivers, and streams.

The Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) operates five large research vessels, ranging in length from 70 to 107 ft, with one vessel stationed on each of the Great Lakes. The vessels are equipped with wet laboratories, gear for fish, limnological, and contaminant sampling, hydroacoustical fish-detection systems, and GPS navigation systems.

The R/V ARCTICUS replaces the 38-year-old Grayling, bringing the USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) large vessel fleet up-to-date. The R/V ARCTICUS is stationed at the USGS base in Cheboygan, MI and incorporates modern marine standards and state-of-the-art technology to safely and effectively conduct fishery research.

Three common types of ADCP deployment platforms are manned boats, tethered boats, and remote-control boats. The Streampro is deployed only on a tethered boat but has two tethered boat options. ADCPs can be mounted on either side of manned boats, off the bow, or in a well through the hull.

Nov 6, 2015 · The fisheries research vessel, built by Burger Boat Company in Manitowoc, Wis., for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), was delivered in the fall of 2014. It is based in Cheboygan, Mich., as part of the Great Lakes Science Center’s five-vessel fleet.

Mar 5, 2014 · ADCP users need to know the proper procedures for measuring discharge from a moving boat and why those procedures are required, so that when the user encounters unusual field conditions, the procedures can be adapted without sacrificing the accuracy of the streamflow-measurement data.

Aug 29, 2011 · This chapter is revised to reflect current guidance, responsibilities, and includes two new appendices, Appendix 31-E for airboats and Appendix 31-F for non-motorized watercraft. Field offices have one year from the effective date of this directive to become compliant with the requirements established in Appendix 31-F.

Mar 29, 2015 · The new, large research vessel (R/V) Arcticus will enable USGS Great Lakes Science Center scientists to explore fish health and water quality in Lakes Michigan and Huron. This research is used by federal, state and provincial resource managers to protect and restore the lakes’ ecosystems and the $7 billion Great Lakes fishery.

The shiptrack plot is the resulting boat motion determined from the dot product of the boat velocity and water velocity unit vector. The reference is distance upstream along the y-axis and distance cross-stream along the x-axis relative to the water velocity.