CIV 442

HYDROLOGY
LECTURE 4B: CORRECTION-THIESSEN

Prof. Evan K. Paleologos

Civil Engineering
EXTENSION AND CORRECTION
OF MEASUREMENTS
(continued)
2. INVERSE DISTANCE METHOD
B
(4.2mm) Inverse of distance:
7k B: 1/7 = 0.143
m C: 1/14 = 0.071
14 km A: 1/20 = 0.050
m C Sum = 0.264
2 0k Χ
(5.1mm)
Weights:
A B: 0.143/0.264 = 0.541
(3.5mm) C: 0.071/0.264 = 0.269
A: 0.050/0.264 = 0.190

Total:
0.541+0.269+0.190=1.0

Precipitation depth at station Χ:

ΥΧ = 0.541* 4.2 + 0.269* 5.1 + 0.190*3.5 = 4.3 mm
3. RATIOS FOR CONCURRENT PERIODS
Years A B C
1937 45.07 (54.4)
38 43.25 (52.2)
39 37.04 (44.7)
40 41.68 51.33 (44)
41 40.99 50.62 (43.45)
42 48.71 56.71 (48.7)
43 43.03 51.67 47.68
44 41.66
45 36.16 32.87
46 42.99 31.76
47 41.52 (50.07) 46.70
 RATIOS FOR CONCURRENT PERIODS
Station B

B  Ratio of station B over A for period 40-43

Station A A (51.33+50.62+56.71+51.67) / (41.68+40.99+48.71+43.03) =

= 210.33/174.41 = 1.2059

Use the ratio 1.2059 to fill in missing data during 1937-

 
=1.2059 39, 47:
Station B Year 1937: 1.2059*45.07 = (54.4), etc.
Station B Year 1947: 1.2059*41.52 = (50.07)

 Ratio of Station B over C for years 43,

Station B

B 45, 46 is: 1.165
Station C C Use the ratio 1.165 for the years 40, 41, 42 for station C,
and for year 1947 for station B.
Station B Year 1947: 1.165*46.70 = (54.4), etc.
RATIOS FOR CONCURRENT PERIODS

 For year 1947 and for station B we have two

estimations: One, 50.07, from the ratio with
station A, and another, 54.4, from the ratio with
station C. Use average

 Attention: Do not use synthetic data (estimates)

to produce new synthetic data, if there is a better
way (by using real data from another station)
 4. REGRESSION LINE (LEAST SQUARES)
Υ Χ Χ2 ΧΥ
Y is the surface runoff 44 5.3 28.1 233.0
(volume in acre-feet)
20 3.5 12.3 70.0
24 3.0 9.0 72.0
X is precipitation depth 14 1.2 1.44 16.8
(in inches) 12 0.480.23 5.8
We want to create: 3 0 0 0
Y=a X + b ∑: 117 13.48 51.07 397.6

 XY   X Y
13.48*117
397.6  a N
a 6 ( X) 2
51.07 
(13.48) 2 X 2

N
6

13.48*397.6  117 *51.07

( X) ( XY)  ( Y) ( X 2 )
b b
(13.48) 2  6 *51.07 ( X) 2  N( X 2 )
 MEAN PRECIPITATION
DEPTH OF A WATER BASIN
 ARITHMETIC MEAN
In many hydrologic problems we need the mean
precipitation (of a year, period etc.) over an area

The simplest method is to take the arithemetic mean of

measurements of all the stations that are in the region.
The method is good if stations are uniformly distributed,
the area is flat, and measurements are not very
different from each other.
 THIESSEN METHOD
This method tries to account for the non-uniform distribution of stations
over a region by assigning an area of influence for each station.

Stations are connected with lines (dashed lines in figure) creating triangles. Midsection lines
for each triangle side are brought, creating polygons around each station. Calculating the area
of each station’s polygon (column 2), and then as a percentage of the whole area (column 3),
the polygon’s area is used to multiply the corresponding station’s precipitation.
 ISOHYETAL METHOD
This is the most precise method, but requires many stations and knowledge of the
area. Isohyetal lines are created by connecting the points that have the same
precipitation (same way as in surveying for elevation curves).

Example: The area enclosed by isohyet 5 was found to be 13 mi 2; the area enclosed by isohyet 4
was 90 mi2 (column 2). Therefore, the net area enclosed between isohyets 4 and 5 is 77 mi 2
(column 3). The average precipitation between isohyets 5 and 4 is 4.5 (shown as 4.6 in column
4). Multiplying 4.6 by 77 gives the volume of water within this area. Doing that for all isohyets
we get the total volume; dividing by the total area we get the average precipitation of the
region.
End Lecture Notes