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Hydrologic science:
Hydrology is the science dealing with the occurrence, distribution, movement and
properties of the earths waters.
1
The Hydrological Cycle
The hydrologic cycle is a concept that considers the processes of motion, loss and
recharge of the Earths waters. It describes a continuous process by which water is
transported from the oceans, to the atmosphere, to the land and back to the sea,
recognising that many subcycles exist. Globally, the hydrologic cycle is considered a
closed system of cycles and subcycles with many elements. The sun provides the driving
force for the global water transport system.
Precipitation is the major driving force that drives the hydrologic cycle.
2
Watershed (Basin, Catchment Area):
Area of land that drains to a single outlet and is separated from other
watersheds by a drainage divide.
Rainfall that falls in a watershed will generate runoff to that watershed outlet.
Topographic elevation is used to define a watershed boundary (land survey)
Catchment area is another term for the surface portion of the watershed.
Watershed divide is the ridge line (border) that separates two adjacent
watersheds which drain into two different outlets.
Watershed Characteristics:
Size
Slope
Shape
Soil type
Storage capacity
Watershed Shapes:
Elongated
Concentrated
3
Watershed Response Hydrograph:
As rain falls over a watershed area, a certain portion will infiltrate the soil.
Some water will evaporate to atmosphere.
Rainfall that does not infiltrate or evaporate is available as overland flow and
runs off to the nearest stream.
Smaller streams then begin to flow and contribute their load to the main
channel at confluences.
As accumulation continues, the stream flow rises to a maximum (peak flow)
and a flow moves downstream through the main channel.
The flow eventually recedes or subsides as all areas drain out.
Hydrograph:
Qp = C An
K = A / L2
K = form ratio, A = watershed area, L = watershed length measured along the longest
watercourse.
K = 1 for square area and less than 1 for elongated area.
Example: (Al-Rawas, Ghazi A. and Valeo, Caterina (2010). Relationship between wadi drainage characteristics and
peak-flood flows in arid northern Oman', Hydrological Sciences Journal, 55: 3, 377 393)
4
Residence time:
The residence time, Tr , is the average duration for a water molecule to pass through a
subsystem of the hydrologic cycle. The hydraulic residence time may be calculated by
dividing the volume of the water impoundment by the quantity of water leaving the
impoundment.
Tr = V/Q
1. Define your control volume (A region that is fixed in space and completely
surrounded by a control surface). Examples: watersheds, basins, catchments are all
parcels of land draining to the same point. Once this is done, the input and outputs of
water to the system can be identified.
dS
I O
dt
I = input or inflow S = Storage
S S 2 S1
I O
t t 2 t1