Introduction to Hydrology

INTRODUCTION TO
HYDROLOGY & THE

HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
CE 141-2:Hydrology
Engr. June Arion D. Malesido
Intoduction to Hydrology
Hydrology is the science dealing with the water cycle in continental environments.
Hydrology is defined formally as the science which deals with the waters of the
Earth, their occurrence, circulation and distribution on the planet, their physical
and chemical properties and their interactions with the physical and biological
environment, including their responses to human activity.
The science of hydrology overlaps with many other sciences: Meteorologist - the
study of precipitation and evaporation; Agriculturalists, Soil Physicists &
Geologists - storage of water in the soil and its percolation to groundwater;
Hydraulic Engineer - flow of water in the river systems.
School of Civil, Environmental, & Geological Engineering Prepared by: Engr. June Arion D. Malesido
Hydrology is of fundamental importance in managing water and seeks to

understand the movement of water through the environment and predict how
water bodies will behave under different circumstances.
At its broadest, hydrology encompasses all aspects of water as it moves through

the water cycle but is more usually taken to focus upon water on the land surface
and in the soil profile, rather than in the air or the sea.
According to Hingray, Picouet, Musy, there are FOUR key problems
in Hydrology:
01. Prediction of Hydrological Variables
02. Hydrological Forecasting
03. Hydrological Impact of Human Activities
04. Hydrological Impact of Climate Change
Hydrological variables are generally used for the design of hydraulic works and the
application of other measures, structural or non-structural, for the preventive
management of hydrological risks. Prediction is sometimes used to provide
diagnostics concerning existing works or systems for which the effectiveness
depends on the variability of water resources.
The objective of hydrological analyses is the estimation of the values of certain

hydrological quantities that could be observed at a given location over a given
period. Whatever the hydrological variable concerned, the objective is never to
estimate the date or time of occurrence.
The estimation also often concerns the risks associated with exceptional
hydrological events. In this case, the estimation is generally associated with the
frequency of occurrence, exceedance or non-exceedance of certain hydrological
variables characterizing these events.
For example: maximum flood or minimum low-flow discharges.

The FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE of these variables is generally given in terms
of a RETURN PERIOD expressed in years.
02. Hydrological Forecasting
HYDROLOGICAL FORECASTING is used in the real-time management of water
resources and associated hydrological risks. The objective of hydrological
forecasting is to estimate the future values of various hydrological variables, their
date or time of occurrence or their change over a given time.
Sample applications:
The use of water in a storage reservoir can be optimized based on forecasted
inflows for the n days or weeks to come.
Forecasting can also be used to anticipate on risks associated with extreme
hydrological events, floods and low flows.
In this case, the main objective is to reduce potential social and economic
disruption, loss of life or injuries and property damage (e.g. via warnings or the
operation of hydraulic control works).
Since the dawn of time, human societies have adapted their natural environment
and constructed a wide range of regulation works to optimize the management of
water resources or reduce hydrological risks.
Projects include:
(1) Derivation of some or all a watercourse to irrigate vast expanses of land

(2) Building of dams to produce hydroelectric power or reduce flood peaks
The hydrological behavior of hydro systems can also be modified indirectly by
human activities. For example, this is the case for the deforestation of certain
regions, often linked to local agricultural practices, or the impermeabilization of
the ground surface that accompanies the widespread urbanization of drainage
basins.
Such land use modifications generally lead to major changes in the distribution of
water transfers at the soil-vegetation atmosphere interface, often intensifying
extreme hydrological events (e.g. floods, low flows).
Transportation and communication routes can also modify the natural boundaries
of drainage basins and the corresponding flows.
Whatever the context considered, a major concern for communities is to be able
to assess the hydrological impact of their existing or planned projects and
activities. One of the key hydrological problems today is to propose methods and
tools for such assessments.
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE, related in part to the increase in greenhouse gases
resulting from human activities, is progressively modifying regional climates as well
as the hydrological cycle and will continue to do so in the future.
As a natural consequence, the continental surface, the hydrological behavior of

hydro systems and consequently the water resources and hydrological risks are
expected to change to an extent that will vary depending on the region. These
possible changes must be assessed to prepare the inevitable adaptations that our
society will have to undertake.
A HYDROLOGICAL ANALYSIS carried out in this context can have for example
the objective of estimating changes in the intensity and/or frequency of extreme
events or possibly assessing water resource modifications in terms of volumes and
seasonal or interannual variability. This important hydrological problem lies in the
framework of the long-term management of water resources and hydrological
risks.
The Hydrologic Cycle: Global Water Resources
Freshwater
Lakes and River Storage
2.5%
0.3%
Freshwater
2.5% Groundwater (Soil
Moisture, Swamp Water,
Saltwater and Permafrost)
97.5% 30.8%
Glaciers and Permanent

Snow Cover
68.9%
The water present on, above, and below the earth’s surface could be
thought of as constituting three big reservoirs: a surface reservoir (oceans and
lakes), a subsurface reservoir (groundwater), and an atmospheric reservoir which
comprises mainly water vapor. There is a nearly continuous movement of water
from one reservoir to the other through various pathways.
Water occurs on the earth in all its three states, viz. liquid, solid and gaseous, and
in various degrees of motion. The various aspects of water related to the earth
can be explained in terms of a cycle known as the HYDROLOGIC CYCLE or WATER
CYCLE.
Water occurs on the earth in all its three states, viz. liquid, solid and gaseous, and
in various degrees of motion. The various aspects of water related to the earth
can be explained in terms of a cycle known as the HYDROLOGIC CYCLE or WATER
CYCLE.
The Hydrologic Cycle: Hydrologic Processes
Schematic representation of the

hydrologic cycle. (Robinson & Ward, 2017)
0 = Evaporation from
ocean
1 = Raindrop evaporation
2 = Interception
3 = Transpiration
4 = Evaporation from land
5= Evaporation from water

bodies
6 = Surface runoff
7 = Infiltration
8 = Groundwater
9 = Deep percolation
The main components of the hydrologic cycle can be classified
(broadly) as:
01. Transportation components
02. Storage components
01. Transportation components
a. Precipitation
b. Evaporation
c. Transpiration
d. Infiltration
e. Runoff
02. Storage components

a. Storage on the land surface (Depression storage, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, etc.)
b. Soil moisture storage
c. Groundwater storage
SAMPLE PROBLEM # 1
SP1. Estimate the residence time of global atmospheric moisture
in days.

Introduction to Hydrology

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction to Hydrology

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

INTRODUCTION TO

HYDROLOGY & THE

Hydrology is of fundamental importance in managing water and seeks to

At its broadest, hydrology encompasses all aspects of water as it moves through

The objective of hydrological analyses is the estimation of the values of certain

For example: maximum ﬂood or minimum low-ﬂow discharges.

(1) Derivation of some or all a watercourse to irrigate vast expanses of land

As a natural consequence, the continental surface, the hydrological behavior of

Glaciers and Permanent

Schematic representation of the

4 = Evaporation from land

5= Evaporation from water

02. Storage components

You might also like