Physical Hydrology

About this book

A comprehensive and balanced treatment of the modern approaches to hydrologic processes that addresses the global hydrologic cycle and examines its relation to climate, soils and vegetation.

Contents

1. Introduction to Hydrologic Science. Definition and Scope of Hydrology. Development of Scientific Hydrology. Approach and Scope of This Book. 2. Basic Hydrologic Concepts. Physical Qualities and Laws. Hydrologic Systems. The Conservation Equations. The Watershed (Drainage Basin). The Regional Water Balance. Spatial Variability. Temporal Variability. Storage, Storage Effects, and Residence Time. Hydrologic Modeling. 3. Climate, the Hydrologic Cycle, Soils and Vegetation: A Global Overview. Basic Aspects of Global Climate. The Global Hydrologic Cycle. Climate, Soils, and Vegetation. 4. Precipitation. Meteorology of Precipitation. Measurement at a Point. Areal Estimation. Precipitation and Rainfall Climatology. Precipitation Quality. 5. Snow and Snowmelt. Material Characteristics of Snow. Measurement of Snow and Snowmelt. Hydrologic Importance and Distribution of Snow. Snowmelt Processes. Snowmelting Model. Water-Quality Aspects. 6. Water in Soils: Infiltration and Redistribution. Material Properties of Soil. Soil-Water Storage. Soil-Water Flow. Water Conditions in Natural Soils. Infiltration: Measurement and Qualitative Description. Quantitative Modeling of Infiltration at a Point. Redistribution. Summary. 7. Evapotranspiration. Physics of Evaporation and Turbulent Energy Exchange. Classification of Evapotranspiration Processes. Free-Water, Lake, and Wetland Evaporation. Bare-Soil Evaporation. Transpiration. Interception and Interception Loss. Potential Evapotranspiration. Actual Evapotranspiration. 8. Ground Water in the Hydrological Cycle. Basic Principles of Ground-Water Flow. Regional Ground-Water Flow. Ground Water-Surface-Water Relations. Ground Water in the Regional Water Balance. Evaluation of Ground-Water Balance Components. Impacts of Ground-Water Development on Basin Hydrology. 9. Stream Response to Water-Input Events. Basic Aspects of Stream Response. Mechanisms Producing Event Response. Open-Channel Flow and Streamflow Routing. The Stream Network. Rainfall-Runoff Modeling. Rainfall-Runoff Models. 10. Hydrology and Water-Resource Management. Water-Resource Management. Hydrologic Analysis: Water Supply and Demand. Hydrologic Analysis: Water Quality. Hydrologic Analysis: Floods. Hydrologic Analysis: Low Streamflows and Droughts. Current and Projected Water Use. Appendix A: Hydrologic Quantities. Dimensions and Units. Precision and Significant Figures. Unit Conversion. Equations: Dimensional Properties and Conversion. Appendix B: Water as a Substance. Structure of Water. Properties of Water. Flow Equations. Appendix C: Statistical Concepts Useful in Hydrology. Probability and Random Variables. Probability Distributions. Exceedence Probability and Return Period. Covariance and Correlation. Data Analysis: Identifying an Appropriate Probability Distribution. Data Analysis: Estimating Parameters of Probability Distributions. The Normal Distribution. Sampling Error. Persistence and Autocorrection. Statistical Criteria for Model Calibration and Validation. Appendix D: Water and Energy in the Atmosphere. Physics of Radiant Energy. Composition and Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere. Water Vapor. Physics of Evaporation. Physics of Precipitation. Physics of Turbulent Transfer Near the Ground. Appendix E: Estimation of Daily Clear-Sky Solar Radiation on Sloping Surfaces. Radiation Incident on a Horizontal Plane. Radiation on a Sloping Plane. Appendix F: Stream-Gaging Methods for Short-Term Studies. Selection of Measurement Location. Velocity-Area Method. Dilution Gaging. Sharp-Crested V-Notch Weirs. Flumes. Stage Measurement. Slope-Area Measurements. Appendix G: Hydrological Information Sources on the Internet (on CD-ROM). References. Index.

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