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Chapter 1: Hydrology and Hydrologic Cycle

1. Hydrology is the study of the circulation of water through the hydrologic cycle, including precipitation, evaporation, infiltration, surface runoff, and streamflow. Hydraulics analyzes the mechanical behavior of water in physical systems. 2. The hydrologic cycle is impacted by human activities like burning fossil fuels, which increases evaporation and affects climate. Key parts of the cycle include evaporation, precipitation, surface runoff, subsurface flow, and infiltration. 3. Humans impact the water cycle through activities like hydroelectricity, irrigation, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and animal farming, which can alter evaporation, precipitation patterns, and climate.

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30 views10 pages

Chapter 1: Hydrology and Hydrologic Cycle

1. Hydrology is the study of the circulation of water through the hydrologic cycle, including precipitation, evaporation, infiltration, surface runoff, and streamflow. Hydraulics analyzes the mechanical behavior of water in physical systems. 2. The hydrologic cycle is impacted by human activities like burning fossil fuels, which increases evaporation and affects climate. Key parts of the cycle include evaporation, precipitation, surface runoff, subsurface flow, and infiltration. 3. Humans impact the water cycle through activities like hydroelectricity, irrigation, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and animal farming, which can alter evaporation, precipitation patterns, and climate.

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dada
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 1: Hydrology and Hydrologic Cycle

1.1 Difference between hydrology and hydraulics


Hydrology is defined as the circulation of water and its constituents through the
hydrologic cycle, or the quantification of flows that are ultimately produced by
precipitation. It deals with precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, hail, etc.), evaporation,
infiltration, groundwater flow, surface runoff, streamflow, and the transport of
substances dissolved or suspended in flowing water. In the field of stormwater
engineering, hydrology typically refers to the rate of precipitation, quantity of
water, rate of surface runoff, and timing of its arrival at a point of interest.
Hydraulics is defined as the study of the mechanical behavior of water in physical
systems. In engineering terms, hydraulics is the analysis of how surface, and/or
subsurface flows move from one point to the next. Hydraulic analysis is used to
evaluate flow in rivers, streams, storm drain networks, water aqueducts, water
lines, sewers, etc.

1.2 The hydrologic cycle and its human impact


Human activity such as the burning of fossil fuels has an effect on the overall
increase of the Earth's temperature. Raising the Earth's temperature may mean
that there is an increase of evaporation, melting of ice or other processes of
the water cycle that adversely affect the climate on Earth.
1.2.1 Water cycle
Water cycle also known as hydrologic cycle, the water cycle is a phenomenon
where water moves through the three phases (gas, liquid and solid) over the four
spheres (atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere) and completes a
full cycle. The water cycle has many effects: it regulates the temperature of the
surroundings. It changes weather and creates rain. It helps in conversion of rocks to
soil. It circulates important minerals through the spheres.

Evaporation
The water cycle starts with
evaporation. It is a process where
water at the surface turns into
water vapors. Water absorbs heat
energy from the sun and turns into
vapors. Water bodies like the oceans,
the seas, the lakes and the river bodies
are the main source of evaporation.
Through evaporation, water moves
from hydrosphere to atmosphere. As
water evaporates it reduces the
temperature of the bodies.

Precipitation
is the natural process of conversion of
atmospheric vapour into water. The
water so formed then falls to the earth
in the form of a rainfall. A ll liquid and
solid water particles that fall from clouds and reach the ground. These particles
include drizzle, rain, snow, snow pellets, ice crystals, and hail
Surface flow/streamflow
Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is water, from rain, snowmelt, or
other sources, that flows over the land surface, and is a major component of the
water cycle. Runoff that occurs on the ground surface before reaching
a channel can be a nonpoint source of pollution, as it can carry man-made
contaminants or natural forms of pollution (such as rotting leaves). Man-made
contaminants in runoff include petroleum, pesticides, fertilizers and others.[3]

Subsurface flow/Groundwater flow


 the movement of subterranean water under the influence of piezometric head and 
the force of gravity. An integral part of the water cycle, subsurface flow characteriz
es the natural resources of subterranean water, which is under the draining influen
ce of rivers, lakes, seas, or waterless negative landforms. 

1.2.2 Humans and the water cycle


Different countries use different amounts of water, but we all tend to use them in
the same ways, and some of these actions can impact on the water cycle –
generating hydroelectricity, irrigation, deforestation and the greenhouse effect, as
well as motor vehicle use and animal farming.

Hydroelectricity is electricity made by generators that are pushed by the


movement of water. It is usually made with dams that block a river to make
a reservoir or collect water that is pumped there. When the water is released, the
pressure behind the dam forces
the water downpipes that lead
to a turbine. This causes the
turbine to turn, which turns
a generator which makes
electricity.
Also
called hydropower, electricity 
produced from generators
driven by turbines that convert
the potential energy of falling
or fast-
flowing water into mechanical
energy. In the early 21st
century, hydroelectric power was the most widely utilized form of renewable
energy; in 2019 it accounted for more than 18 percent of the world’s total power
generation capacity.
Irrigation
Irrigation is the artificial
watering of land that
does not get enough
water through rainfall.
Irrigation is used
substantially by most
countries, some more
than others. Arid (dry)
lands require far more
water, as do countries
that have large intensive
farming communities.

Deforestation

The removal of trees (deforestation) is having a major impact on the water cycle, as
local and global climates change.
Normally, trees release water vapour when they transpire, producing a
localised humidity. This water vapour then evaporates into the atmosphere where
it accumulates before precipitating back to the Earth as rain, sleet or snow.
Deforestation in one area can therefore affect the weather in another area because
if trees are cut down, there is less water to be evaporated into the atmosphere and
subsequently less rain.

Greenhouse effect
The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon of Earth’s atmosphere trapping
a range of gases, which in turn capture infrared radiation to keep our Earth at a
moderate temperature range compared to the other planets in our solar
system. Human activities contribute to global warming by increasing
the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect
happens when certain gases—known
as greenhouse gases—collect in
Earth’s atmosphere. These gases, which
occur naturally in the atmosphere,
include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen
oxide, and fluorinated gases sometimes
known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

1.3 Interrelationship of the phases of the hydrologic cycle


Hydrologic cycle is ultimately driven by solar radiation, which evaporates water
from the ocean and lift it up in the atmosphere.

1.3.1 Evapotranspiration (evaporation + transpiration)


Evapotranspiration uses a larger portion of precipitation than the other
processes
associated with the hydrologic cycle.
Evaporation is the process of returning moisture to the atmosphere. Water on
any surface, especially the surfaces of mudholes, ponds, streams, rivers, lakes,
and
oceans, is warmed by the sun’s heat until it reaches the point at which water
turns
into the vapor, or gaseous, form. The water vapor then rises into the
atmosphere.
1.3.2 Precipitation
Precipitation can be rain, sleet, hail, or
snow. Sometimes precipitation falls back
into the ocean and sometimes it falls onto
the land surface. Precipitation is any type of
condensation of atmospheric water vapor
that falls under gravity and includes rain,
snow, sleet, hail, and fog. The amounts and
types of precipitation affect soil
development, vegetation growth, and the
generation of runoff, which transports soils, nutrients, and pollutants. Water
that evaporates (or sublimates) from the Earth’s surface is stored as water
vapor in the atmosphere before returning to the Earth’s surface as precipitation.
As rain falls from the atmosphere, some is caught by vegetation (trees, grass,
crops), and this is called “interception.”

1.3.3 Streamflow
Runoff is the movement of water, usually
from precipitation, across
the earth’s surface towards stream
channels, lakes, oceans, or depressions or
low
points on the earth’s surface.
The characteristics that affect the rate of
runoff include rainfall duration and in-
tensity as well as the ground’s slope, soil
type and ground cover.
Precipitation may fall directly to the surface
or be intercepted by plants, ulti-
mately reaching the ground. Once on the ground, water can infiltrate into the
soil or
move across the surface as runoff.
1.3.4 Infiltration/Percolation
Infiltration is the entry of water into the soil surface.
Infiltration constitutes the sole source of water to sustain the growth of
vegetation
and it helps to sustain the ground water supply to wells, springs and streams.
The
rate of infiltration is influenced by the physical characteristics of the soil, soil
cover
(i.e. plants), water content of the soil, soil temperature and rainfall intensity.
The
terms infiltration and percolation are often used interchangeably.
As water reaches the surface in various forms of precipitation, it is intercepted
by plants or falls directly to the surface. Precipitation that collects on the leaves
or stems of plants is known as interception.

1.3.5 Groundwater
water that occurs below the surface of Earth, where it occupies all or part of the
void spaces in soils or geologic strata. It is also called subsurface water to
distinguish it from surface water,  which is found in large bodies like
the oceans or lakes or which flows overland in streams. 

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