GIS

Application in
Hydrology

 Geographic information systems

(GIS) are a useful tool for analysis
of spatially distributed features on
and under the earth surface.
GIS is increasingly used by
hydrologists to analyze, simulate,
and understand hydrologic
processes.

Hydrologic modeling existed 150 years ago and deals

major issues such as :
Water utilization
Pollution control and mitigation
Flood control and mitigation.
There are 4 categories of spatial components used in
hydrologic modeling that can usually be simplified
from 3D to 2D:
Watersheds
Pipes and stream channels
Aquifers
Lakes and estuaries

The elementary water cycle has inputs equal to outputs plus or minus
change in storage.
Hydrologists make use of a hydrologic budget when they study a
watershed.
A watershed is a spatial area, and the occurrence of water
throughout its space varies by time.
In the hydrologic budget are inputs such as
Precipitation
surface flows in
groundwater flows in
Outputs are :
Evapotranspiration
infiltration
surface runoff
surface/groundwater flows out.