[Link] Reddy [Link], Ph.

D
Assistant Professor
College of Engineering & Architecture
University of i!"a, i!"a
[Link] Reddy, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nizwa, Nizwa
Cha#ter$%&
'ntroduction
(ydrology as a Science
Quite literally hydrology is the s!ien!e or study of" #logy" fro$ %atin logia& water" #hydro" fro$
'ree( hudor&. )owever, !onte$*orary hydrology does not study all the *ro*erties of water. +odern
hydrology is !on!erned with the distri,ution of water on the surfa!e of the earth and its $ove$ent
over and ,eneath the surfa!e, and through the at$os*here. -his [Link] de/nition suggests
that all water !o$es under the re$it of a hydrologist, while in reality it is the study of fresh water that
is of *ri$ary !on!ern. -he study of the saline water on earth is !arried out in o!eanogra*hy.
0hen studying the distri,ution and $ove$ent of water it is inevita,le that the role of hu$an
intera!tion !o$es into *lay. Although hu$an needs for water are not the only $otivating for!e in a
desire to understand hydrology, they are *ro,a,ly the strongest. -he hu$an intera!tion !an ta(e the
for$ of water 1uantity *ro,le$s #e.g. over.e2tra!tion of ground"ater& or water 1uality issues #e.g.
dis*osal of *ollutants&.
-he two $ain *athways to the study of hydrology !o$e fro$ engineering and geogra*hy, *arti!ularly
the earth s!ien!e side of geogra*hy. -he earth s!ien!e a**roa!h !o$es fro$ the study of landfor$s
#geo)or#hology& and is rooted in a history of e2*laining the *ro!esses that lead to water $oving
around the earth and to try to understand s*atial lin(s ,etween the *ro!esses. -he engineering
a**roa!h tends to ,e a little $ore *ra!ti!ally ,ased and is loo(ing towards /nding solutions to
*ro,le$s *osed ,y water $oving #or not $oving& around the earth. 3n reality there are huge areas of
overla* ,etween the two and it is often di4!ult to se*arate the$, *arti!ularly when you enter into
hydrologi!al resear!h.
Practical a##lications of (ydrology
So$e of the *ra!ti!al a**li!ations of hydrology are
&. Design of hydrauli! stru!tures5 -he design of any stru!ture related to water su!h as s*illway,
da$, !ulvert, )ighway 6ridge, Rail 6ridge et!. $ay ,e !onsidered to !onsist of three *arts
na$ely hydrologi! design, hydrauli! design and stru!tural design. )ydrologi! design deals
with the esti$ation of the 1uantities of water to ,e handled at the site of stru!ture, s*e!i/!ally
their ti$e distri,ution, ti$e of o!!urren!e and fre1uen!y of o!!urren!e. )ydrauli! design
*rovides the ,est suita,le sha*e and se!tion of the stru!ture to !o*e with the waters
esti$ated and the stru!tural design ensures the sta,ility and safety of the !hosen se!tion
against water *ressure and other *ressure. So hydrology *lays an i$*ortant role in the design
of any stru!ture.
*. +uni!i*al and industrial water su**ly5 the availa,ility of water is often the $ost i$*ortant
fa!tor in lo!ating the $a7or industries and it has !onsidera,le e8e!t on the growth of
$uni!i*alities. )ydrologist would ,e a,le to answer su!h 1uestions.
[Link] Reddy, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nizwa, Nizwa
+. 3rrigation5 Provision of ade1uate storage fa!ilities at the irrigation and other $ulti*ur*ose
*ro7e!ts either to irrigate or to $eet the de$ands of other *ur*oses is the essential *art of the
design. 3n arriving at the storage !a*a!ity of the reservoir the eva*oration, see*age and other
losses $ust ,e *ro*erly a!!ounted for. -his re1uires the infor$ation on the hydrologi!al
varia,les su!h as runo8, eva*oration and in/ltration.
,. 9lood !ontrol5 Reservoirs, levees, !hannel i$*rove$ent and !hannel diversions or a
!o$,ination of the$ are the $ost !o$$only used :ood !ontrol stru!tures. 9lood !ontrol
*ro,le$s are !o$*li!ated and the te!hni1ue of :ood routing is essential to the intelligent and
e!ono$i! *lanning of :ood !ontrol *ro7e!ts.
-. Navigation5 )ydrologi!al *ro,le$s in navigation *ro7e!ts re1uire answers to su!h 1uestions as how
$u!h water will ,e re1uired for lo!( gates and to $aintain $ini$u$ draft, where fro$ this !an ,e
o,tained and *reserved and what will ,e the e8e!t of the navigation stru!tures in the river
es*e!ially during :oods.
.. Erosion and Sedi$ent !ontrol5 E2!essive erosion in the !at$int feeds sedi$ent in to the runo8. -his
leads to $any undesira,le e8e!ts li(e lose in reservoir !a*a!ity at a faster rate. )ydrology of the
!at!h$ent along with the (nowledge of the e2isting watershed $anage$ent *ra!ti!es will hel* in
/nding out the e8e!tive erosion !ontrol $easures suita,le for the given soil !onditions.
/. Pollution a,ate$ent5 3ndis!ri$inate dis!harge of sewage fro$ !ities and industries in to the near ,y
strea$s results in health hazards to *u,li! and to a1uati! organis$s. A hydrologist !an hel* the
sanitary engineer regarding the level of treat$ent ,efore it is dis*osed of in to the strea$.
T(E (0DR1213'CA2 C0C2E
As a starting *oint for the study of hydrology it is useful to !onsider the hydrological cycle. -his is a
!on!e*tual $odel of how water $oves around ,etween the earth and at$os*here in di8erent states as a
gas, li1uid or solid. -here are di8erent s!ales that the hydrologi!al !y!le !an ,e viewed at, ,ut it is hel*ful
to start at the large glo,al s!ale and then $ove to the s$aller hydrologi!al unit of a river ,asin or
!at!h$ent.
The glo4al hydrological cycle
-a,le ;. sets out an esti$ate for the a$ount of water held on the earth at a single ti$e. -hese /gures are
e2tre$ely hard to esti$ate a!!urately.
Ta4le & Esti)ated volu)es of "ater held at the earth5s surface
[Link] Reddy, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nizwa, Nizwa
Esti$ates show a range in total fro$ ;.<= to ;.>? thousand $illion #or US ,illion& !u,i! (ilo$eters of water.
-he vast $a7ority of this is !ontained in the o!eans and seas. -he total *er!entage of water availa,le for
hu$an !onsu$*tion is around @.AB *er !ent. Although this sounds very little it wor(s out at a,out ;>=
$illion liters of water *er *erson *er day #assu$ing a world *o*ulation of B ,illion& and there is enough to
satisfy all hu$an needs.
6igure &. The glo4al hydrological cycle. The nu)4ers re#resent esti)ates on the total a)ount
of "ater 7thousands of 8)+9 in each #rocess #er annu). E : eva#oration; P : #reci#itation; <3
: su4surface runo=; < : surface runo=.
9igure ;. shows the $ove$ent of water around the earthCat$os*here syste$ and is a re*resentation of
the glo,al hydrologi!al !y!le. -he !y!le !onsists of eva#oration of li1uid water into water va*our that is
$oved around the at$os*here. At so$e stage the water va*our !ondenses into a li1uid #or solid& again
and falls to the surfa!e as #reci#itation. -he o!eans eva*orate $ore water than they re!eive as
*re!i*itation, while the o**osite is true over the !ontinents. -he di8eren!e ,etween *re!i*itation and
eva*oration in the terrestrial zone is runo=, water $oving over or under the surfa!e towards the o!eans,
[Link] Reddy, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nizwa, Nizwa
whi!h !o$*letes the hydrologi!al !y!le. As !an ,e seen in /gure ;. the vast $a7ority of eva*oration and
*re!i*itation o!!urs over the o!eans. 3roni!ally this $eans that the terrestrial zone, whi!h is of greatest
!on!ern to hydrologists, is a!tually rather insigni/!ant in glo,al ter$s. -he three *arts shown in /gure ;.
#eva*oration, *re!i*itation and runo8& are the funda$ental *ro!esses of !on!ern in hydrology.
-a,le A. 'ives the a$ount of availa,le water for various !ountries, ,ut this ta(es no a!!ount for the
a$ount of water a,stra!ted for a!tual usage.
The catch)ent hydrological cycle
At a s$aller s!ale it is *ossi,le to view the !at!h$ent hydrologi!al !y!le as a $ore [Link]*th !on!e*tual
$odel of the hydrologi!al *ro!esses o*erating. 9igure A shows an ada*tation of the glo,al hydrologi!al
!y!le to show the *ro!esses o*erating within a !at!h$ent. 3n /gure A there are still essentially three
*ro!esses o*erating #eva*oration, *re!i*itation and runo8&, ,ut it is *ossi,le to su,divide ea!h into
di8erent su,.*ro!esses. Eva*oration is a $i2ture of o*en water eva*oration #i.e. fro$ rivers and la(es&D
eva*oration fro$ the soilD eva*oration fro$ *lant surfa!esD interce#tionD and trans#iration fro$ *lants.
Pre!i*itation !an ,e in the for$ of sno"fall, hail, rainfall or so$e $i2ture of the three #sleet&. 3nter!e*tion
of *re!i*itation ,y *lants $a(es the water availa,le for eva*oration again ,efore it even rea!hes the soil
surfa!e. -he ,road ter$ runo8" in!or*orates the $ove$ent of li1uid water a,ove and ,elow the surfa!e of
the earth. -he $ove$ent of water ,elow the surfa!e ne!essitates an understanding of in/ltration into the
soil and how the water $oves in the unsaturated zone #through >o"& and in the saturated zone
#ground"ater >o"&. All of these *ro!esses and su,.*ro!esses are dealt with in detail in later !ha*tersD
what is i$*ortant to realize at this stage is that it is *art of one !ontinuous !y!le that $oves water around
the glo,e and that they $ay all ,e o*erating at di8erent ti$es within a river ,asin.
6igure * Processes in the hydrological cycle o#erating at the 4asin or catch)ent scale. < : runo=; the
su4scri#t 3 stands for ground"ater >o"; T6 for through >o"; ' : interce#tion; E : eva#oration; P :
#reci#itation.
[Link] Reddy, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nizwa, Nizwa
Cha#ter$*
Preci#itation
PREC'P'TAT'1 AS A PR1CESS
Pre!i*itation is the release of water fro$ the at$os*here to rea!h the surfa!e of the earth. -he ter$
*re!i*itation" !overs all for$s of water ,eing released ,y the at$os*here, in!luding snow, hail, sleet and
rainfall. 3t is the $a7or in*ut of water to a river !at!h$ent area and as su!h needs !areful assess$ent in
any hydrologi!al study. Although rainfall is relatively straightforward to $easure #other for$s of
*re!i*itation are $ore di4!ult& it is notoriously di4!ult to $easure accurately and, to !o$*ound the
*ro,le$, is also e2tre$ely varia,le within a !at!h$ent area.
Preci#itation for)ation
-he a,ility of air to hold water va*our is te$*erature de*endent5 the !ooler the air the less water va*our is
retained. 3f a ,ody of war$, $oist air is !ooled then it will ,e!o$e saturated with water va*our and
eventually the water va*our will !ondense into li1uid or solid water #i.e. water or i!e dro*lets&. -he water
will not !ondense s*ontaneously howeverD there need to ,e $inute *arti!les *resent in the at$os*here,
!alled condensation nuclei, u*on whi!h the water or i!e dro*lets for$. -he water or i!e dro*lets that
for$ on !ondensation nu!lei are nor$ally too s$all to fall to the surfa!e as *re!i*itationD they need to
grow in order to have enough $ass to over!o$e u*lifting for!es within a !loud. So there are three
!onditions that need to ,e $et *rior to *re!i*itation for$ing5
;. Cooling of the at$os*here
A. Condensation onto nu!lei
<. 'rowth of the waterEi!e dro*lets.
At)os#heric cooling
Cooling of the at$os*here $ay ta(e *la!e through several di8erent $e!hanis$s o!!urring inde*endently
or si$ultaneously. -he $ost !o$$on for$ of !ooling is fro$ the u*lift of air through the at$os*here. As
air raises the *ressure de!reasesD 6oyle"s %aw states that this will lead to a !orres*onding !ooling in
te$*erature. -he !ooler te$*erature leads to less water va*our ,eing retained ,y the air and !onditions
,e!o$ing favora,le for condensation. -he a!tual u*lift of air $ay ,e !aused ,y heating fro$ the earth"s
surfa!e #leading to convective #reci#itation&, an air $ass ,eing for!ed to rise over an o,stru!tion su!h
[Link] Reddy, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nizwa, Nizwa
as a $ountain range #this leads to orogra#hic #reci#itation&, or fro$ a low *ressure weather syste$
where the air is !onstantly ,eing for!ed u*wards #this leads to cyclonic #reci#itation&. Fther
$e!hanis$s where,y the at$os*here !ools in!lude a war$ air $ass $eeting a !ooler air $ass, and the
war$ air $eeting a !ooler o,7e!t su!h as the sea or land.
Condensation nuclei
Condensation nu!lei are $inute *arti!les :oating in the at$os*here whi!h *rovide a surfa!e for the water
va*our to !ondense into li1uid water u*on. -hey are !o$$only less than a $i!ron #i.e. one $illionth of a
$etre& in dia$eter. -here are $any di8erent su,stan!es that $a(e !ondensation nu!lei, in!luding s$all
dust *arti!les, sea salts and s$o(e *arti!les. Resear!h into generating arti/!ial rainfall has !on!entrated
on the *rovision of !ondensation nu!lei into !louds, a te!hni1ue !alled cloud seeding. During the ;G?@s
and ;G=@s $u!h e8ort was e2*ended in using silver iodide *arti!les, dro**ed fro$ *lanes, to a!t as
!ondensation nu!lei. )owever, $ore re!ent wor( has suggested that other salts su!h as *otassiu$
!hloride are ,etter nu!lei. -here is
$u!h !ontroversy over the value of !loud seeding. So$e studies su**ort its e8e!tiveness #e.g. 'agin and
Neu$ann, ;GH;D [Link], ;GHH&D other authors 1uery the results #e.g. Rangno and )o,,s, ;GG?&, while
others suggest that it only wor(s in !ertain at$os*heri! !onditions and with !ertain !loud ty*es #e.g.
Changnon et al., ;GG?&. +ore re!ent wor( in South Afri!a has !on!entrated on using hygros!o*i! :ares to
release !hloride salts into the ,ase of !onve!tive stor$s, with so$e su!!ess #+ather et al., ;GGB&.
3nterestingly, this a**roa!h was /rst noti!ed through the dis!overy of e2tra heavy rainfall o!!urring over a
*a*er $ill in South Afri!a that was e$itting *otassiu$ !hloride fro$ its !hi$ney sta!( #+ather, ;GG;&.
?ater dro#let gro"th
0ater or i!e dro*lets for$ed around !ondensation nu!lei are nor$ally too s$all to fall dire!tly to the
groundD that is, the for!es fro$ the u*ward draught within a !loud are greater than the gravitational for!es
*ulling the $i!ros!o*i! dro*let downwards. 3n order to over!o$e the u*ward draughts it is ne!essary for
the dro*lets to grow fro$ an initial size of ; $i!ron to around <,@@@ $i!rons #< $$&. -he va*our *ressure
di8eren!e ,etween a dro*let and the surrounding air will !ause it to grow through !ondensation, al,eit
rather slowly. 0hen the water dro*let is i!e the va*our *ressure di8eren!e with the surrounding air
,e!o$es greater and the water va*our su,li$ates onto the i!e dro*let. -his will !reate a *re!i*itation
dro*let faster than !ondensation onto a water dro*let, ,ut is still a slow *ro!ess. -he $ain $e!hanis$ ,y
whi!h raindro*s grow within a !loud is through collision and coalescence. -wo raindro*s !ollide and 7oin
together #!oales!e& to for$ a larger dro*let that $ay then !ollide with $any $ore ,efore falling towards
the surfa!e as rainfall or another for$ of *re!i*itation.
Another $e!hanis$ leading to in!reased water dro*let size is the so.!alled @ergeron #rocess. -he
*ressure e2erted within the *ar!el of air, ,y having the water va*our *resent within it, is !alled the va#our
#ressure. -he $ore water va*our *resents the greater the va*our *ressure. 6e!ause there is a $a2i$u$
a$ount of water va*our that !an ,e held ,y the *ar!el of air there is also a $a2i$u$ va*our *ressure, the
so.!alled saturation va#our #ressure. -he saturation va*our *ressure is greater over a water dro*let
than an i!e dro*let ,e!ause it is easier for water $ole!ules to es!a*e fro$ the surfa!e of a li1uid than a
solid. -his !reates a water va*our gradient ,etween water dro*lets and i!e !rystals so that water va*our
$oves fro$ the water dro*lets to the i!e !rystals, there,y in!reasing the size of the i!e !rystals. 6e!ause
[Link] Reddy, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nizwa, Nizwa
!louds are usually a $i2ture of water va*our, water dro*lets and i!e !rystals, the 6ergeron *ro!ess $ay ,e
a signi/!ant fa!tor in $a(ing water dro*lets large enough to ,e!o$e rain dro*s #or i!eEsnow !rystals& that
over!o$e gravity and fall out of the !louds. -he $e!hanis$s of dro*let for$ation within a !loud are not
!o$*letely understood. -he relative *ro*ortion of ![Link]$ed, !ollision for$ed, and 6ergeron.
*ro![Link]$ed dro*lets de*ends very $u!h on the individual !loud !ir!u$stan!es and !an vary
!onsidera,ly. As a dro*let is $oved around a !loud it $ay freeze and thaw several ti$es, leading to
di8erent ty*es of *re!i*itation.
PREC'P'TAT'1 D'STR'@UT'1
-he a$ount of *re!i*itation falling over a lo!ation varies ,oth s*atially and te$*orally #with ti$e&. -he
di8erent in:uen!es on the *re!i*itation !an ,e divided into stati! and dyna$i! in:uen!es. Stati! in:uen!es
are those su!h as altitude, as*e!t and slo*eD they do not vary ,etween stor$ events. Dyna$i! in:uen!es
are those that do !hange and are ,y and large !aused ,y variations in the weather. At the glo,al s!ale the
in:uen!es on *re!i*itation distri,ution are $ainly dyna$i! ,eing !aused ,y di8ering weather *atterns, ,ut
there are stati! fa!tors su!h as to*ogra*hy that !an also !ause $a7or variations through a rain shado"
e=ect #see !ase study on **. ;HC;G&. At the !ontinental s!ale large di8eren!es in rainfall !an ,e attri,uted
to a $i2ture of stati! and dyna$i! fa!tors. 3n 9igure A.; the rainfall distri,ution a!ross the USA shows
$ar(ed variations. Although $ountainous areas have a higher rainfall, and also a!t as a ,lo!( to rainfall
rea!hing the drier !entre of the !ountry, they do not *rovide the only e2*lanation for the variations evident
in 9igure A.;. -he higher rainfall in the [Link] states #Fregon and 0ashington& is lin(ed to wetter
!y!loni! weather syste$s fro$ the northern Pa!i/! that do not rea!h down to southern California. )igher
rainfall in 9lorida and other southern states is lin(ed to the war$ waters of the Cari,,ean sea. -hese are
e2a$*les of dyna$i! in:uen!es as they vary ,etween rainfall events. At s$aller s!ales the stati! fa!tors
are often $ore do$inant, although it is not un!o$$on for 1uite large variations in rainfall a!ross a s$all
area !aused ,y individual stor$ !louds to e2ist. As an e2a$*le5 on < July A@@@ an intense rainfall event
!aused :ooding in the village of E**ing 'reen, Esse2, UK. A**ro2i$ately ;@ $$ of rain fell within one
hour, although there was no re!orded rainfall in the village of -heydon 6ois a**ro2i$ately ;@ ($ to the
[Link] Reddy, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nizwa, Nizwa
south. -his large s*atial di8eren!e in rainfall was !aused ,y the s!ale of the weather syste$ !ausing the
stor$ C in this !ase a !onve!tive thunderstor$. Fften these ty*es of variation lessen in i$*ortan!e over a
longer ti$es!ale so that the annual rainfall in E**ing 'reen and -heydon 6ois is very si$ilar, whereas the
daily rainfall $ay di8er !onsidera,ly. 9or the hydrologist, who is interested in rainfall at the s$all s!ale, the
only way to try and !hara!terize these dyna$i! variations is through having as $any rain gauges as
*ossi,le within a study area.
Static in>uences on #reci#itation distri4ution
3t is easier for the hydrologist to a!!ount for stati! varia,les su!h as those dis!ussed ,elow.
Altitude
3t has already ,een e2*lained that te$*erature is a !riti!al fa!tor in !ontrolling the a$ount of water va*our
that !an ,e held ,y air. -he !ooler the air is, the less water va*our !an ,e held. As te$*erature de!reases
with altitude it is reasona,le to assu$e that as an air *ar!el gains altitude it is $ore li(ely to release the
water va*our and !ause higher rainfall. -his is e2a!tly what does ha**en and there is a strong !orrelation
,etween altitude and rainfall5 so.!alled orographic precipitation.
As#ect
-he in:uen!e of as*e!t is less i$*ortant than altitude ,ut it $ay still *lay an i$*ortant *art in the
distri,ution of *re!i*itation throughout a !at!h$ent. 3n the hu$id $[Link] #<?L to =?L north r south
of the e1uator& the *redo$inant sour!e of rainfall is through !y!loni! weather syste$s arriving fro$ the
west. Slo*es within a !at!h$ent that fa!e eastwards will naturally ,e $ore sheltered fro$ the rain than
those fa!ing westwards. -he sa$e *rin!i*le a**lies everywhere5 slo*es with as*e!ts fa!ing away fro$ the
*redo$inant weather *atterns will re!eive less rainfall than their o**osites.
Slo#e
-he in:uen!e of slo*e is only relevant at a very s$all s!ale. Unfortunately the $easure$ent of rainfall
o!!urs at a very s$all s!ale #i.e. a rain gauge&. -he di8eren!e ,etween a level rain gauge on a hill lo*e,
!o$*ared to one *arallel to the slo*e, $ay ,e signi/!ant. 3t is *ossi,le to !al!ulate this di8eren!e if it is
assu$ed that rain falls verti!ally C ,ut of !ourse rain does not always fall verti!ally. Conse1uently the
e8e!t of slo*e on rainfall $easure$ents is nor$ally ignored.
[Link] Reddy, Assistant Professor, College of Engineering, University of Nizwa, Nizwa