Hydrology Part 1: Introduction to Hydrology TSYH 3140

Upon successful completion, the student will be able to:

Module 1 - The Hydrologic Cycle

• Relate the nature of hydrology to uses of hydrologic data in the design decision process.
• State and define the components and relationships of the hydrologic cycle.
• State the units of measurement of the various cycle components.

Module 2 - The Hydrologic Equation

• State the two primary conditions that must be met for a specific determination of a single component of the hydrologic cycle.
• State the hydrologic equation in terms of defining inflow, outflow or the change in storage, and list and define specific area inflows, outflows and storage changes.
• Calculate inflows, outflows or changes in storage given the relevant data.

Module 3 - Groundwater Hydrology

• State and define the components of the groundwater portion of the hydrologic cycle.
• Relate seepage, groundwater flow and the water table with respect to baseflow in a stream.
• State and define the three types of springs.
• State the common methods utilized in construction for lowering or maintaining the water table and the purpose for each.
• State the relationship of wells and the water table in terms of drawdown and recharge.

Module 4 - Watershed Boundaries

• State and define the terms watershed, divide, drainage basin and catchment area.
• Determine divides and drainage basin boundaries from topographic mapping and aerial photographs.
• Define a point of concentration and determine catchment area boundaries from topographic mapping and aerial photographs.
• Identify and state the primary features of the basic drainage patterns.
• Determine or calculate the area of a drainage basin from both topographic mapping and aerial photographs using a planimeter and the grid method.

Module 5 - Watershed Characteristics

• State and define the seven basic characteristics of a watershed, as related to a hydrologic study.
• Evaluate the characteristics of a catchment area and determine the relevant runoff coefficients 'R' from standard tables of values.
• Evaluate the characteristics of a catchment area and determine the relevant Manning's coefficient 'n' from standard tables of values.

Module 6 - Precipitation - Rainfall

• State and define the factors influencing precipitation.
• Define and state the relationship between rainfall intensity and duration.
• Describe the types of precipitation measurement devices and the resulting records produced.
• Determine the mean basin precipitation by three methods based on basin rainfall accumulation records from several recording stations.
• State and describe the basic storm types and the resulting intensity duration relationship.

Module 7 - Precipitation - Snowfall

• Define snowfall, snowpack, pack density, pack condition and water equivalents.
• Define the three primary snowpack conditions and state the typical density ranges for each condition.
• State the water equivalent formula and calculate the water equivalents of snowpacks given the depth and density of the snow.
• State the factors that contribute to the melting process of snowpack.

Module 8 - Streamflow Measurement

• Define the components and sources of streamflow.
• State the discharge equation and the units of streamflow.
• Determine the cross-section elements, suitable section selection and measurement requirements for metering section cross-section determination.
• State the physical velocity determination methods and the value, uses or limitations of each method.
• Determine the appropriate values of Manning's 'n' based on stream channel assessment using standard tables of values, and by Cowan's method.
• State and be able to calculate the velocity of streamflow based on the Chezy and Manning equations and given data.
• Calculate the discharge of a stream given the details of the channel.

Module 9 - Stream Gauging

• Relate and define a stream stage, the stage discharge relationship and the factors affecting that relationship.
• Describe a basic stream gauge and recording stream gauge.
• Assess the results of a typical stream gauge record and produce a stage discharge curve given the appropriate data.

Effective as of Fall 2003