CE 515 M1

HYDRO METEOROLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS

Hydro-meteorology is the scientific study of the interaction between

meteorological and hydrologic phenomena, including the occurrence, motion,
and changes of state of atmospheric water, and the land surface and
subsurface phases of the hydrologic cycle. Hydrometeorologic studies
address questions regarding land use, the long-term effects of climate
change on water resources, and regional precipitation.

DEFINITION OF TERMS:
Rainfall the quantity of rain falling within a given area in a given time
Atmospheric and water temperature - the degree or intensity of heat
present in the atmosphere and in a water resources
Evaporation is a process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas
Humidity - is the amount of water vapor in the air
Wind speed - or wind flow velocity, is a fundamental atmospheric rate and
it is caused by air moving from high pressure to low pressure, usually due to
changes in temperature
Hours of sunshine - is a climatological indicator, measuring duration of
sunshine in given period (usually, a day or a year) for a given location on
Earth
River levels and flows - the current depth and discharge of water of river
in a given time
Sediment concentration levels
the ratio of the dry weight of the sediment in a water
sediment mixture (obtained from a streamor other body of water) to the total
weight of the mixture

HYDRO METEOROLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS includes continuous built up

of rainfall statistics at various temporal and spatial scales, hydrometeorological studies for different river catchment with a view to estimate
Standard Project Storm (SPS), probable Maximum precipitation (PMP), Time
distribution of rainfall storm, Intensity-frequency Analysis of rainfall which is
used by design engineers for construction of Dams, railways and road
bridges, culverts etc. for different central and state organizations.

*RAINFALL STATISTICS
The rainfall events were classified into four types according to the
definition put forth by Huff determining the quantities precipitated during the
four quartiles of duration. The rainfall is categorized by the duration that has
the greatest precipitation: rainfall is classified as type I if most of the rainfall
occurs in the first 25% of the total duration; as type II if most of the rainfall
occurs between 25 and 50% of its duration; as type III if most of the rainfall
occurs between 50 and 75% of its duration; and as type IV if most of the
rainfall occurs in the last 25% of its total duration. Rainfall characterization is
significant for many types of hydrological studies, mainly for those that aim
to estimate flow volume and peak discharge of surface runoff and erosion
losses.

*HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL
CATCHMENT

STUDIES

FOR

DIFFERENT

RIVER

Estimation sites and data

Spatial interpolation of observed records

Estimating flow duration curves for environmental flow sites

Generating continuous stream flow time series

*PROBABLE MAXIMUM PRECIPITATION

One informational product used for planning, probable maximum

precipitation (PMP), is defined as the greatest accumulation of precipitation
for a given duration meteorologically possible for a design watershed or a
given storm area at a particular location at a particular time of year.
Climate change effects on PMP are analyzed, in particular,
maximization of moisture and persistent upward motion, using both climate
model simulations and conceptual models of relevant meteorological
systems. Climate model simulations indicate a substantial future increase in
mean and maximum water vapor concentrations. PMP values are, in
principle, most dependent upon atmospheric moisture, and transport of
moisture into storms, persistent upward motion, and strong winds where
orographic uplift is important.

a. Convergence and vertical motion

b. Atmospheric water vapor
c. Physical synthesis: Linking PMP and atmospheric water vapor
A principal application for PMP values is the design of infrastructure for
water retention (dams) or routing, where failure would be catastrophic.

*TIME DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL STORM

In the definition of superficial storm drainage, rainfall intensity and
area relationships, intensity, duration and frequency (IDF) relationships, as
well as rainfall distribution during an event, called the rainfall time
distribution, must be considered.
The time distributions may be expressed as cumulative percentages of
storm rainfall and storm duration to enable valid comparisons between
storms and to simplify analyses and presentation of data. Information also
might be presented in the form of families of curves derived for groups of
storms categorized by quartile storms depending on whether. For most
design applications, it is recommended using the quartile type occurring
most often for the design duration under consideration.

*INTENSITY-FREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF RAINFALL

Rainfall intensitydurationfrequency IDF curves are graphical

representations of the amount of water that falls within a given period of
time in catchment areas. It is a mathematical relationship between the
rainfall intensity i, the duration d, and the return period T. Indeed the IDFcurves allow for the estimation of the return period of an observed rainfall
event or conversely of the rainfall amount corresponding to a given return
period for different aggregation times.
Rainfall Intensity (mm/hr), Rainfall Duration (how many hours it rained
at that intensity) and Rainfall Frequency (how often that rain storm repeats
itself) are the parameters that make up the axes of the graph of IDF curve.
An IDF curve is created with long term rainfall records collected at a rainfall
monitoring station. Ill get into the details of how to create an IDF curve and
how much data you need in a future post, but needless to say, you need a lot
of data. And the more data you have, the more accurate your curve will be.

SUBJECTS OF HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS:

1. Hydrometeorological Hazards are hazards as result of natural
processes or phenomena of atmospheric, hydrological or
oceanographic nature such as:
a. Floods - among the most frequent and costly natural disasters.
Conditions that cause floods include heavy or steady rain for
several hours or days that saturate the ground. Common types of
floods include flash floods, river floods and coastal flood.
b. Drought - an extended time when a region receives a deficiency
in its water supply, whether atmospheric, surface or ground
water. The impacts of drought are generally categorized as
economic, environmental, and social.
c. Tropical cyclones - are intense low pressure areas of the earth
atmosphere coupled system and are extreme weather events of
the tropics. They develop over large bodies of warm water, and
lose their strength if they move over land. This is the reason for
coastal regions receiving a significant damage from a tropical
cyclone, while inland regions are relatively safe from their effect.
Heavy rains, however, can produce significant flooding inland,
and storm surges can produce extensive coastal flooding up to

40 kilometres from the coastline. Although their effects on

human populations can be devastating, tropical cyclones can
also relieve drought conditions.
2. Basin - wise water resource project development. The total land
area that contributes water to a river is called a watershed, also
called differently as the catchment, river basin, drainage basin, or
simply a basin.
3. Water resources projects such as dams and reservoirs

MODERNIZATION OF HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS:

All countries are continually challenged by the effects of weather and
its influences on economic stability, national commerce and growth. While
significant weather events are unavoidable, the impacts of significant
weather can be significantly mitigated through the implementation of
modern hydro-meteorological monitoring, prediction, and warning systems.
Every country faces a unique mix of hydro-meteorological and
environmental challenges which have significant impact on the economic
and social well-being of the population. To better support the needs of
decision makers, all countries must modernize their environmental
monitoring systems, hydro-meteorological analysis and prediction tools, and
dissemination methods to better protect life and property, and advance
public and private economic interests nationwide.
HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL MONITORING NETWORKS
Multi-sensor hydro-meteorological monitoring networks, composed of
gauge, radar and satellite sensors collect rainfall, temperature, and other
data that are used by forecasting models to produce flash flood guidance
and threat information. Hydro-meteorological monitoring networks and
associated communications are critical to the success of any flash flood early
warning system.

Hydro- meteorological sensors for flash flood forecasting. These include

rain gauges, river/stream flow gauges, radars, and satellites

Communications requirements for collecting sensor data

Backup communications for collecting data and distributing warnings

by local/provincial forecast offices and National Meteorological and
Hydrological Service (NMHS) centers

International Data Observation and Information Collection, including

the role of the Global Telecommunications System (GTS)

HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL DATA QUALITY CONTROL

No hydrology program can be successful if the underlying data is inaccurate.
The quality of the data directly affects the quality of the hydrometeorological guidance, forecasts and warnings.

What needs to be done?

The following tasks need to be done in order to monitor and quality
control data. Procedures need to be developed, automatic or manual, to
ensure that these duties are performed:

Make sure data is coming in. If it isn't, find out why. If applicable,
notify appropriate person, or agency of the problem.

Look for data that is obviously wrong. For example, readings that
are off by orders of magnitude, or outside an acceptable range of
values, big jumps in values for no reason, etc..

Change data if correct value is known, or if a reasonable estimate

can be made, otherwise replace bad

Data with a symbol that denotes missing.

Look for erroneous zeros.