We started the day with a somewhat worrying weather forecast with a possible deluge later in the day. We arrived at the site Fiumefreddo and to our surprise there were a collection of young students at the site, having a day lead on the river. Luckily Ray Ward managed to come to an agreement and we organised our own reach of the river to be secured for our work.
Today was a day of two halves. The group was split into two after Ray had given the morning lecture. One set of students with Ray and another with myself (Rob). The day consisted of using various different methods to estimate river water discharge. Ray’s group were using 3 different methods which included, the velocity float method using our specially calibrated flotation devices (oranges from the local market), velocity measurement devices, and salt dilution method. My group were using the slope area method to calculate discharge, which involved using surveying gear to measure the cross sectional area and slope as well as characterizing the sediment.
Luckily the weather was kind to us today, though not warm, the rain was kept at bay until the very end when we were packing up. Only a few oranges were KIA and no wellington boots were lost down the river and dispite my poor student counting skills no one was left behind…
