UNIT I.

INTRODUCTION
TOPICS
Basic Terms Defined: Hydrology, Meteorology,
Hydrometeorolgy, Weather, Climate

The Watershed

Hydrometeorology as Applied to Engineering

 Hydrology

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 Hydrology
An earth science; a science of water.
It encompasses the occurrence, distribution,
movement, and properties of the waters of the
earth and their environmental relationships."
(Viessman, Knapp, Lewis, & Harbaugh, 1977 -
Introduction to Hydrology, Harper & Row
Publishers, New York)
A good understanding of the hydrologic
processes is important for the assessment of the
water resources, their management and
conservation on global and regional scales.
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Meteorology
Meteorology
comes from the Greek meteros
meaning "high in the air

the science of atmospheric

phenomena and processes,
especially weather and weather
conditions
 Hydrometeorology

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 Hydrometeorology
an interdisciplinary science
involving the study and analysis of the
interrelationships between the
atmospheric and land phases of water
as it moves through the hydrologic
cycle." (Hydrometeorological Service
Operations for the 1990's, Office of
Hydrology, National Weather Service,
NOAA, 1996).

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Weather and Climate
 Weather and Climate
WEATHER is the condition of the Earths
atmosphere at a given time.
It can change drastically in a 24 hour period.

CLIMATE is long-period manifestation of weather

(e.g. 30 yr)
average weather
time-average
regional (spatial) average
extremes
trends
WEATHER ELEMENTS
 WEATHER ELEMENTS

Wind
PrEcipitation
Atmospheric Pressure
Temperature
Humidity
Cloud & statE of the Sky
HoRizontal Visibility
 THE WATERSHED
The land area from which
surface runoff drains into a
stream channel, lake, reservoir,
or other body of water
The entire geographical area
drained by a major river and
its intersecting streams
A topographically defined area drained by a river/stream or
system of connecting rivers/streams such that all outflow is
discharged through a single outlet
 THE WATERSHED
SYNONYMS
Catchment/ Catchment area/
Catchment basin
Drainage area/ Drainage basin
Feeding ground
Gathering ground
Hydrographic basin
Basin
-
 Watershed and watershed divide

Watershed/
catchment
Watershed/
catchment
Manual Delineation of Drainage Areas
on a Topographic Map

When manually delineating watersheds from a topographic

map, drainage divides are located by analyzing the contour
lines.
Arrows representing the flow directions are drawn
perpendicular to each contour, in the direction of the
steepest descent.
The location of a divide is taken to be where flow
directions diverge, or where the arrows point in opposite
directions.
Manually locating these is a difficult process, and slight
errors are unavoidable. The extent of these errors is
dependent upon the worker, and different workers will likely
present different results
Watershed Delineation Example
Sherman Brook Watershed x
1. Identify the watershed
outlet. Mark with . x
2. Highlight Sherman Brook &
other nearby watercourses. x
3. Try to visualize direction of x
flow and look for ridge lines
& saddles (a dip or low point
between two areas of higher
ground). Mark high points
with x. x
x
4. If needed, draw arrows to
indicate direction of surface
flow.
x
5. Trace outline of watershed
beginning at outlet,
connecting high points.
Cross contours at right
angles. Form a closed and
continuous boundary.
Note town boundaries - Sherman Brook Watershed is in two municipalities
 What is a Watershed?
In every watershed, small streams flow into larger
streams, which flow into rivers, lakes, and bays.
The smallest streams at the outer limits of a watershed
are called headwaters. Headwaters are the source
and upper part of a stream.
These headwater streams have no tributaries and are
called first order streams. All other streams have
tributaries. Second order streams form when first
order streams meet.
A tributary is a stream that flows into a larger stream
or other body of water.
Watersheds
The rate at which water travels
through a watershed is determined
by factors such as:
Size (total surface area)
Topography (flat or steep)
Amount and type of vegetation
Human development

The total amount of water that collects

in a river that drains the watershed is
called its Discharge.
Discharge is measured in
meters3/second.

Total Discharge
WATERSHED Parameters
Size
Shape
Physiography
Climate
Drainage
Land use
Vegetation
Geology and Soils
Hydrology
Hydrogeology
Socioeconomics
Important Watershed Characteristics:
Drainage Area (A)
The single most important watershed
characteristic for hydrologic design.
It reflects the volume of water that can be
generated from rainfall.
It is common in hydrologic design to assume a
constant depth of rainfall occurring uniformly
over the watershed. Under this assumption, the
volume of water available for runoff would be
the product of rainfall depth and the drainage
area.
Watershed Length (L)
Usually defined as the distance measured along
the main channel from the watershed outlet to
the basin divide.
Since the channel does not extend to the basin
divide, it is necessary to extend a line from the
end of the channel to the basin divide following a
path where the greatest volume of water would
travel. Thus, the length is measured along the
principal flow path.
The length is usually used in computing a time
parameter, which is a measure of the travel time
of water through a watershed.
Watershed Slope (S)
Flood magnitudes reflect the momentum of the runoff.
Slope is an important factor in the momentum.
Watershed slope reflects the rate of change of elevation with
respect to distance along the principal flow path.
The watershed slope (S) is computed as the difference in
elevation ( E) between the end points of the principal flow
path divided by the hydrologic length of the flow path (L):
S = E/L
The elevation difference E may not necessarily be the
maximum elevation difference within the watershed since
the point of highest elevation may occur along a side
boundary of the watershed rather than at the end of the
principal flow path.
Watershed Shape Basin
Watersheds have an infinite variety of shapes,
and the shape supposedly reflects the way that
runoff will bunch up at the outlet.
A circular watershed would result in runoff
from various parts of the watershed reaching
the outlet at the same time.
An elliptical watershed having the outlet at
one end of the major axis and having the same
area as the circular watershed would cause the
runoff to be spread out over time, thus
producing a smaller flood peak than that of the
circular watershed.
Form Factor (F)
Proposed by Horton (1932) to express the shape
of a basin quantitatively.
The form factor (F) is defined as F=B/L,
where B and L are the mean basin width and the
maximum basin length, respectively.
Since a drainage basin is composed of very
complex slopes, the area of a drainage basin is
measured from horizontal projection of these
slopes. If the area of a drainage basin is A, the
mean basin width B is B=A/L.
Accordingly, F=A/L2.
Generally, F is less than 1 because the maximum
basin length is longer than the mean basin width.
Drainage Texture
Fineness of drainage network. Two concepts of
density and frequency of channels are combined.

Drainage Density
The length of streams per unit of drainage area
and is measured by dividing the total length of
streams by the area of a drainage basin

Drainage Frequency
Derived by dividing the number of streams by
the area of the drainage basin.
Drainage Pattern:
A plan of a river system in a drainage basin.
Each pattern reflects geological structure, prevailing
direction of a slope, etc.

geological structure, prevaili

ng direction of a slope, etc.
Stream Order
Stream Order: a system of classifying
streams and rivers based on their
relationship or position in the drainage
network.

Streams at the beginning of the system are called

first-order streams. First order streams receive
water directly from a source such as a spring,
lake, melting snow, etc.

When two first order streams join, the resulting

stream is now classified as a second-order stream.
Different sizes of drainage basins
WATERSHED Area

Watershed (ha) Classification

50,000-2,00,000 Watershed
10,000-50,000 Sub-watershed
1,000-10,000 Milli- watershed
100-1,000 Micro-watershed
1 -100 Mini-watershed
 Term Paper No. 1
Hydrometeorology as Applied to Engineering
UNIT II. THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
TOPICS
The Hydrologic Cycle
Water Cycle Spheres
Physical and Chemical Make-up of Water
The Hydrologic Processes
Hydrologic Processes: Interrelationships
Common Units of Measurement
Estimated Amounts of Water
The Hydrologic Budget
Global Annual Water Balance
Hydrologic Budget Equation: Sample Applications
THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
The water cycle
The central focus of hydrology
The interdependence and continuous movement of
all phases of water
The transport of water between ocean, land, and
atmosphere
Has no beginning or end
Many processes occur simultaneously
Many sub cycles exist
Water is indestructible; the total quantity of water in
the cycle can neither be diminished nor increased
Movement of water is erratic, both in time and area
The Water Cycle
The continuous movement of water from the
earth to the atmosphere and back to the
earth.
The sun provides the energy for the water
cycle.
The water cycle occurs in four overlapping
spheres.
Water Cycle Spheres
Hydrosphere
Atmosphere
Biosphere
Lithosphere
Physical and Chemical Makeup
of Water
Water, in its purest form, is tasteless,
odorless, and colorless.
It is a chemical compound made up of two
atoms of hydrogen and one atom of
oxygen.
Its chemical symbol is H2O.
Physical States of Water
Solid form of water is called ice.
Water freezes at 32F or 0C.
Gaseous form of water is called water
vapor or steam.
When water boils it turns into water vapor
or steam. Water boils at 212F or 100C.
In between the gaseous and solid form,
water is in its liquid form.
Chemical Make-up of Water
Water that contains salt is called saline
water.
Sodium chloride, potassium, and
magnesium can raise the level of salts in
the water.
The amount of salt in the water will
determine its usefulness.
Water that is too high in salt cannot be
used for drinking or irrigation.
Categories of Saline Water

Freshwater
Saltwater
Brackish water
Freshwater
Water with less than 3.0 parts per
thousand (ppt) of salt.
Most commonly found in drilled wells,
streams, and lakes.
Only 3 percent of the water on the earth is
considered freshwater, of this 3 percent
only 1 percent is available for use.
Saltwater
Water with 16.5 ppt or more of salt.
Some ocean and sea water is as high as 33
to 37 ppt.
Saltwater makes up about 97 percent of
the earths water.
Brackish Water
A mixture of saltwater and freshwater.
Brackish water is found where freshwater
flows into the ocean or other bodies of
saltwater.
An estuary is the area where a freshwater
stream flows into the ocean or a saltwater
lake.
THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
 Hydrologic Cycle

4
THE HYDROLOGIC PROCESSES
The hydrologic cycle may be viewed as
beginning with evaporation, the movement of
water from the liquid to the vapor state, from
any wet surface. The resulting water vapor is
transported by moving air masses.

Under proper conditions, the vapor undergoes

the process of condensation (change of water
from vapor to liquid), or sublimation (change
of vapor to ice) to form clouds, which may, in
turn, fall to earth as precipitation.
 THE HYDROLOGIC PROCESSES
PRECIPITATION may be dispersed in several ways:
Be evaporated while falling (virga)
Be intercepted by vegetation cover or by surfaces of
buildings and other structures, and then be evaporated back
into the atmosphere rather quickly. (Stemflow is that part of
interception that runs down the tree trunk. Water not
intercepted by vegetation is termed throughfall).
Be stored in the form of ponds, puddles and surface water
which are evaporated into the atmosphere
Be stored as snow and ice before melting or sublimation
occurs after many years
Flow over the surface (overland flow), discharge into
streams and lakes (surface runoff) and then move by
evaporation into the atmosphere or by seepage towards the
groundwater or by further flow into the oceans
 THE HYDROLOGIC PROCESSES
PRECIPITATION may be dispersed in several ways:

Infiltrate through the ground surface to join existing soil

water and be removed by evaporation from the soil, or by
throughflow towards stream channels (subsurface flow or
interflow), or by downward percolation to the underlying
groundwater where it may be held from weeks to millennia..
The groundwater component may be removed by upward
capillary movement to the soil surface or to the root zone of
the vegetation cover, and from there be returned to the
atmosphere by evapotranspiration, (or the combined
consumptive use, the evaporative process by which water is
released to the atmosphere through vegetation and soil), or
by groundwater seepage and flow into surface streams and
into the oceans (groundwater flow or baseflow).
OTHER HYDROLOGIC PROCESSES

DETENTION STORAGE water held temporarily in

the aerated portion of the soil
RETENTION STORAGE held for longer period of
time
DEPRESSION STORAGE occurs on surface where
water collects and remains there until it either seeps
thru the surface or evaporates; water in surface
puddles and ponds
Hydrologic Processes
Precipitation: Rain, Sleet, Hail, or Snow
Evaporation: Transformation of water from liquid
state to vapor state.
Transpiration: Water vapor released by plant leaves,
similar to breathing by animals and humans by
breaking down nutrients to generate energy. You
transpire when you run away from a mountain
lion, or when you take the final exam.

52
Evaporation & Transpiration

Fig. 4.1
 Plant Transpiration
Most water absorption occurs in upper half of root zone
Hydrologic Processes
Surface Runoff:
The water that runs off over the ground into
streams and rivers.
Overland flow (surface flow)
The lateral flow under the influence of gravity
move towards lower elevations from where they
may eventually discharge into the ocean.
Base Flow:
The water that seeps up into a stream from
groundwater or water springs.

55
Surface Water starts with
Infiltration capacity (how much rain the
ground can absorb before water runs off;) determines
what land will look like

HIGH LOW
water water
sinks runs
in off
High infiltration capacity landscapes
look like this:

Water that sinks into ground supports

plants & high water table
Low infiltration capacity
Means that water does not sink in, but runs off and erodes
channels (tiny rills to big gullies)
Low infiltration capacity means that
water runs off quickly into streams as
flash floods

Gypsum Wash Near Las Vegas, NV

Why FLASH FLOODS HAPPEN
1. Intense Rain
2. Low infiltration capacity of ground (so water is sent
quickly to streams)
[there is a threshold that will raise water to point
where stream rises quickly & floods occur]
 Why FLASH FLOODS HAPPEN
2. Low infiltration capacity of ground means that there
is a high drainage density (lots of channels in an area
to feed water to larger streams)
 Why FLASH FLOODS HAPPEN
2. Low infiltration capacity of ground means that there
is a high drainage density (lots of channels in an area
to feed water to larger streams)
HYDROLOGIC PROCESSES: INTERRELATIONSHIPS

Infiltration
- Evapotranspiration
- Soil Moisture Storage
- Groundwater Reservoir
- Maintains Dry Weather Streamflow
- Undreground Flow of Groundwater
 Catchment stores

Atmosphere

Interception store

Channel store
surface store
Soil store

Groundwater store

Week 22 GEOG2750 Earth Observation and GIS of the Physical Environment 64

HYDROLOGIC PROCESSES: INTERRELATIONSHIPS

Depression Storage
- Evaporation
- Infiltration

Surface Runoff
- Streamflow Generation
- Infiltration
- Evaporation
- Return to Ocean
COMMON UNITS OF MEASUREMENT
STREAMFLOW AND RIVER FLOW
cubic meters per second, cms, m3/sec
cubic feet per second, cfs
second-feet sec-ft

GROUNDWATER FLOWS AND WATER SUPPLY FLOWS

gallons per minute, gpm
gph, gpd, mgd

FLOWS USED IN AGRICULTURE/WATER STORAGE

acre-ft, acre-ft per unit time, inches, cm/hr, acre-in/hr

VOLUMES
gallons, cubic ft, cubic meters, acre-ft, inches, ft, cm

RAINFALL
inches, cm, mm, iph, cm/hr

EVAPORATION, TRANSPIRATION, INFILTRATION RATES

in/hr, cm/hr
ESTIMATED AMOUNTS OF WATER

ITEM AREA VOLUME PERCENT OF PERCENT OF

(106 km2) (km3) TOTAL WATER FRESH WATER

Oceans 361.3 1,338,000,000 96.5

Groundwater
Fresh 134.8 10,530,000 0.76 30.1
Saline 134.8 12,870,000 0.93
Soil Moisture 82.0 16,500 0.0012 0.05
Polar Ice 16.0 24,023,500 1.7 68.6
Other ice, snow 0.3 340,600 0.025 1.0
Lakes
Fresh 1.2 91,000 0.007 0.26
Saline 0.8 85,400 0.006
Marshes 2.7 11,470 0.0008 0.03
Rivers 148.8 2,120 0.0002 0.006
Biological 510.0 1,120 0.0001 0.003
Atmospheric 510.0 12,900 0.001 0.04
Total Water 510.0 1,385,984,610 100
Fresh Water 148.8 35,029,210 2.5 100
General Perspective on the
Hydrosphere
Residence Time
Residence time:
Average travel time for water to pass through a
subsystem of the hydrologic cycle
Tr = S/Q
Storage/flow rate
Residence time of global atmospheric moisture
(Example)
Volume (storage) of atmospheric water: 12,900 km3
Flow rate of moisture from the atmosphere as precipitation
= 577,000 km3/yr
Tr = 12,900/577,000 = 0.022 yr = 8.2 days

One reason why weather cannot be forecast accurately more than a few days
ahead!
THE HYDROLOGIC BUDGET
SYSTEMS CONCEPT
Hydrologic phenomena may be represented by means
of the systems concept, a system being a set of
connected parts that form a whole. For the
hydrologic cycle then, the system components are
precipitation, evaporation, runoff, and other phases
of the cycle.
A hydrologic system is defined as a structure or
volume in space, surrounded by a boundary, that
accepts water and other inputs, operates on them
internally, and produces them as outputs.
The most common working media involved in the
hydrologic analysis are water, air, and heat energy.
A Hydrologic System/Region
may be:
Topographically defined
Politically limited, or
Arbitrarily specified
THE HYDROLOGIC BUDGET
SYSTEMS CONCEPT
For a given catchment, in an interval of time t, the
continuity equation for water in its various phases can be
given as:
Mass inflow Mass outflow = change in mass storage
The quantification of the hydrologic cycle in such a system
becomes a simple mass balance equation, where the
difference in inputs and outputs is equal to the change in
storage. The general water budget equation is written as:

I - Q = dS/ dt
where: I = inputs
Q = outputs
 SYSTEMS CONCEPT
In general, the mass balance equation can be written
over surface and underground water systems. The
surface budget equation is
P + Rin - Rout + Rg - Es - Ts - I = Ss

P = precipitation over the period of interest

Rin = surface water flows into the control volume over the period of
interest
Rout = surface water flows out of the control volume over the period
of interest
Rg = groundwater rate of flow into surface streams
Es = surface evaporation rate
Ts = plant transpiration rate of surface moisture
I = infiltration rate
Ss = change in water storage on the surface over the period of
interest
SYSTEMS CONCEPT
Similarly, the groundwater budget equation is
I + Gin - Gout - Rg - Eg - Tg = Sg

The total mass balance, obtained by adding both

equations, is:

P- (RinRout)-(Es + Eg)-(Ts+Tg)-(GoutGin) = (Ss+Sg))

The units of the above equations are volume per unit

time.
 E P
Gup T

Ground Surface

Rout
Rin

Gin Gout
I Gout

I Water Table
SYSTEMS CONCEPT

Using the net mass exchanges, that is,

if the subscripts are dropped and the quantities
in parentheses are taken as net changes,
the hydrologic budget equation becomes:

P - R - G - E - T = S
or
P - R - G - ET = S

Where: ET is a combined evapotranspiration term

SYSTEMS CONCEPT

P - R - G - E - T = S
or
P - R - G - ET = S

To solve the hydrologic budget equation in terms of any

one of its variables, reasonable estimates of the other
variables must be made. But this is not always possible
or easily done.

When data are lacking on variables of concern,

simplifying assumptions can sometimes be made, but
there is no substitute for a credible data base.
GLOBAL ANNUAL WATER BALANCE
OCEAN LAND
AREA (km2) 361,300,000 148,800.000
Precipitation
km2/yr 458,000 119,000
mm/yr 1,270 800
Evaporation
km2/yr 505,000 72,000
mm/yr 1,400 484
Runoff to Ocean
Rivers (km2/yr) - 44,700
Groundwater (km2/yr) - 2,200
Total Runoff (km2/yr) - 47,000
(mm/yr) - 316
SOURCE: World Water Balance and Water Resources, UNESCO, 1998
GLOBAL ANNUAL WATER BALANCE
Evaporation from land surface consumes 61% of
precipitation, the remaining 39% forming runoff to
the oceans, mostly as surface water.

Evaporation from the oceans contributes nearly 90%

of atmospheric moisture.

Analysis of the flow and storage of water in the global

water balance could provide some insights into the
dynamics of the hydrologic cycle
Global water balance (volumetric)
Units are in volume per year relative to precipitation on
land (119,000 km3/yr) which is 100 units

Precipitation Atmospheric moisture flow Precipitation Evaporation

100 39 385 424

Evaporation
61
Surface Outflow
38

Land (148.7 km2) Ocean (361.3 km2)

(29% of earth area) Subsurface Outflow (71% of earth area)
1

What conclusions can we draw from these data?

Hydrologic Equation: Sample
Application
Example 1:
In a given year, a 10,000 sq mi watershed received 20 in. of
precipitation. The annual rate of flow measured in the river
draining the area was found to be 6000 cfs. Make a rough
estimate of the combined amounts of water evaporated and
transpired from the region during the year of record.
P - R - E - G - T = S
ET = P - R - G - S
Assume:
G = 0 (Area is large; groundwater divide or boundary
follows the surface divide)
S = 0 (Groundwater reservoir has not changed during the
year)
Solution:
ET = P - R - G - S
Assume:
G = 0 (Area is large; groundwater divide or boundary
follows the surface divide)
S = 0 (Groundwater reservoir has not changed
during the year)

ET = P - R
= (20 in./yr) - (6000 ft3/sec* 86400 sec/day* 365 days*
12 in./ft* 1/10000 mi2 * 5280 ft/mi
= 20 - 8.1
= 11.9 in./yr
 Example 2:
A small catchment of area 150 ha received a rainfall of
105 mm in 90 minutes due to a storm. At the outlet of the
catchment, the stream draining the catchment was dry
before the storm and experienced a runoff lasting for 10
hours with an average discharge value of 2.0 m3/sec. the
stream was again dry after the runoff event.

1. What is the amount of water which was not available to

runoff due to combined effect of infiltration,
evaporation and transpiration.
2. What is the ratio of runoff to precipitation?

9
 Solution :
The water budget equation for the catchment in a time t is :

P -R -G -E -T = S
Take t = Duration of Runoff = 10 hours

Rainfall occurred in 90 minutes and the rest (8.5 hours) the precipitation was
zero.

S = 0

1. G + E + T = water not available to runoff = Losses = L

Hence : P-R=L
P = Precipitation = 150x100x100x10.5/100 = 157,500 m3

R = Runoff volume = 2.0x10x60x60= 72,000 m3

Losses = 157,000 - 72,000 = 85,500 m3 = Water not available to runoff.

2. Runoff/rainfall = 72,000/157,500 = 0.457 or 45.7%

10
THE END