HYDROLOGY HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

- the science that treats waters - commonly known as the water

of the Earth, their occurrence, cycle, is the continuous
circulation and distribution, movement of water on, above,
their chemical and physical and below the earth surface.
properties and their reactions
with their environment, MAIN PROCESSES IN
including their relationship with HYDROLOGIC CYCLE:
living things.
1. Condensation
2. Precipitation
3. Infiltration
4. Runoff
5. Evapotranspiration

Note: All occur simultaneously and

constantly except precipitation.

• Periods of water resources

HYDROLOGY AS A SCIENCE: renewal on the Earth.
• Precipitation and
Evaporation: Climatology and
Meteorology
• Infiltration: Soil science
• Groundwater: Geology
• Surface runoff:
Geomorphology
• Stream flow: Fluid mechanics
• Transport of constituents:
Chemistry and Physics Terminologies:
• Hydrologic extremes: Precipitation: Condensed water vapor
Precipitation random and that falls to the earth surface. Mostly
uncertain occurs as rain but also includes snow,
WHAT HYDROLOGIST DO: hail, fog drip. etc.

Runoff: Variety of ways by which water

• Water use
moves across the land. As it flows,
• Water control
water may infiltrate into the ground,
• Pollution control
evaporate into the air, and become
stored in lakes or reservoir, or be WATER BALANCE
extracted for agricultural uses or other
human uses.

Infiltration: Flow of water from ground

surface into the ground. Once infiltrated,
water becomes soil moisture or
groundwater.

Subsurface Flow: Flow of water

underground, it can return into the
surface or seep into the ocean.

Evaporation: Transformation of water

from liquid to gas, it moves from the
ground or bodies of water into the
overlying atmosphere.

Condensation: Transformation of water

from gas to liquid
Example:
Sublimation: Transformation of water
from solid to gas The volume of atmospheric water per
month is 12,900 km3. The
Air currents: what move clouds around
evapotranspiration from land is 28,000
the globe; what take the vapor up to the
km3 per year and river runoff is 50,000
atmosphere
km3 per year. Estimate the storage
SOLAR AND EARTH RADIATION volume of the catchment.

- this initiates the hydrologic

cycle and influences climate.
- Albedo is the ratio of solar
radiation reflected to the
amount incident upon it;
depends on solar altitude (less PRECIPICATION
for high), surface roughness &
type of soil surface (dry or Precipitation occurs when 3 conditions
moist); are met:

• Atmosphere is saturated.
• Small particles are present.
• Drops are big enough to reach
the surface.
 TYPES OF PRECIPITATION
• Ice Pellet (Sleet) –
• Rain – precipitation consisting precipitation of transparent or
of water drops larger than translucent pellets of ice, which
drizzle (0.5 mm or more). are round or irregular hard
grains of ice consisting of
frozen raindrops, or largely
melted then refrozen
snowflakes.

• Drizzle – fairly uniform

precipitation composed
exclusively of fine drops very
close together.
• Hail – Precipitation in the form
of small balls or other pieces of
ice falling separately or frozen
together in irregular lumps. Hail
stones have 5mm or greater in
diameter.

• Snow – precipitation in the

form mainly of branched
hexagonal or star-like ice
crystals, resulting from direct
reverse sublimation of the
atmospheric water vapor.
• Dew – consists of moisture in
the form of liquid drops on the
ground surface and on the
vegetation and other surface
elements, as a result of direct
condensation of atmospheric
water vapor.
PRECIPITATION (RAIN DROPS)
Dominant factors influencing
precipitation rate:
• Fall velocity
• Size distribution
Terminal velocity is proportional to
diameter

Atlas and Ulbrich, 1977:

Rain Drop Velocity:

• Glaze or freezing rain – is ice

deposited by drizzle or rain on
cold surfaces.
• Snow pellets – (also called Drag Coefficient, Cd
granular snow or graupel) are a
form of precipitation consisting
of white, opaque, small grains
with diameters between Example:
roughly 0.5 and 5 mm. What is the terminal velocity for the light
RAINFALL CHARACTERISTICS rain with a drop size of 0.6mm at sea
level. Ans. 2.4708 m/s
• Depth - defined as the total
𝑚 0.6 𝑘𝑔
amount of rain in an area. 4 (9.81 )(
𝑠 2 1000
𝑚) 1000 3
𝑚 − 1)
𝑉=√ (
• Intensity - is defined as the 3(1.07) 𝑘𝑔
1.2 3
𝑚
ratio of the total amount of rain
(rainfall depth) falling during a 𝑉 = 2.4708 𝑚/𝑠
given period to the duration of
the period It is expressed in INTERCEPTION
depth units per unit time,
usually as mm per hour • Throughfall
(mm/h). • Stemflow
• Duration - period of time • Interception by loss
during which continuous rain is
observed, or occurs, at a given
point or within a given area.
 Other Types:

• Weighing type rain gauge

- a weighing precipitation gauge
PRECIPITATION MEASUREMENTS
Gauges
- measure point rainfall. True
precipitation is the one
unaffected by surroundings-
winds, trees, buildings. The
location should provide a
clearance distance 2 times
height of object. For large
areas multiple gauges are
needed for more accurate
estimates
consists of receiving bucket
mounted on a weighing device,
usually a mechanical
mechanism such as a spring.
The rain accumulates in the
container, and the increased
weight compresses the springs.
The amount of compression
gets measured and used to
calculate the weight of the
water. The measurement can
be recorded manually with a
pen on a drum, or electronically
with a data-logger, and send to
the base weather station via
landline or wireless connection.

Rain gauge

- is a meteorological instrument
designed to measure
• Float and Siphon type rain
precipitation in its liquid form in
gauge
a specific area over a
predetermined period of time.

Types of Rain Gauge:

• Recording type
• Non recording type
• Recording type with - telemetry
(real time transmission)
• Tipping bucket type rain
gauge
- is an automated rain meter that
uses a "tipping bucket"
mechanism to measure rainfall.
It is used by professional
weathers services' remote
weather stations, and is also
popular and widely used in
home weather stations. Like a
standard rain gauge, it uses a
collector funnel with a narrow
pipe at the bottom to capture
rainfall. From the pipe, the
water drops onto a finely-
balanced seesaw device with
small buckets on each side.
• Optical Rain Gauge
- consists of a laser/infrared
diode and photosensitive
sensor situated in enclosed
spaces on opposites sides and
below a row of funnels that
receive rainfall. Each funnel
has a small opening at the
bottom through which raindrop
forms when enough
precipitation accumulates
inside the container. Once the
waterdrop grows large enough,
it falls from the funnel and
though the space between the
laser diode and photosensor.
• Acoustic Rain Gauge
- also known as hydrophones,
acoustic rain gauges are used
to measure the rainfall over
large bodies of water like
dams, lakes, and the ocean.
The device itself gets place
underneath the water's surface.
The hydrophone can sense
and measure the impact of the
raindrops, hitting the surface of
the water.
• Graduated Cylinder Rain
Gauge
- also known as the standard
rain gauge, the graduated
cylinder rain gauge is a simple,
measured glass cylinder. It is
used by all professional
weather services in manned
stations and is the most
accurate way of directly
measuring rainfall. The water
gets collected by a cylindrical
funnel, from where it flows
directly into the graduated
cylinder, or captured by a
container and then poured
measured cylinder.
SPACIAL ESTIMATION OF RAINFALL
Using Arithmetic Mean Method
 Using Isohyetal Method

Using Thiessen Polygon Method