Lecture One

Introduction to Hydrologic Sciences

GRMD4202 Hydrology and Water Resources

Prof. LI Jianfeng
Department of Geography and Resource Management
 grmd4202 hydrology and water resources
teaching and learning team

Prof. LI Jianfeng

Ms. SHAPNA Khusnur Jahan

You and each of you - 25 students

Locations of
this year are
to be
confirmed.

Visit of San Tin Stormwater Pumping Visit of Ma On Shan Water Treatment

Station, Drainage Services Department Works, Water Supplies Department
Which description about hydrology is
NOT correct?
A. "Hydro" comes from the Greek word for Water.
B. Hydrologists apply scientific knowledge and mathematical
principles to study water.
C. Hydrology only concerns liquid water and surface water.
D. Background in other subjects — economics, public finance,
environmental law, government policy — is also needed to
solve water-related problems in society.

Hydrology is the science that encompasses the occurrence, distribution,

movement and properties of the complex water system of the earth.
Surface area: Ocean 70%; Land 30%
Distribution of Earth's water?

Freshwater lakes When only surface fresh

0.009% water is considered, about
Saline lakes and 90% is stored in lakes and
inland seas rivers.
0.008%
Soil moisture
0.005%
Stream channels
0.0001%
Atmosphere Weather Maker
0.001%

When only liquid fresh

water is considered, more
than 90% is groundwater.
(22%)
(77%)
Resident time
Which water-related problems do
hydrologists concern?
A. Controlling river flooding
B. Controlling soil erosion
C. Preventing or cleaning up water pollution
D. Finding water supplies for cities or irrigated farms
E. All above
2020 China floods
2020 China Floods,
primarily around the
Yangtze basin, is the
worst flood since 1998.
Extreme floods in 2021 summer
• 12 July 2021 – Europe
• 20 July 2021 – Henan
• Typhoon In-fa - record-
breaking rainfall
• 2 September 2021 –
New York
• Hurricane Ida – record-
breaking rainfall

Source: 中央氣象台

Source: EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre 9

Extreme floods in 2023
• 7 September 2023 – Hong Kong
• Record-breaking hourly rainfall of
158.1mm since 1884
• 24-hour rainfall (4 pm on 7 Sep to 4 pm
next day) – 638.5 mm – around 25% of
annual total rainfall
• Tropical cyclone Haikui
• 10 September 2023 – Libya
• Brazil
• US

10
Source: Internet
11
 “New Normal” in Weather and Climate
• Extreme Weather has become the New Normal
related to Climate Change
20th July 2021

2021 Henan floods

Since 17th July, Henan province has been
affected by severe flooding
Hundreds of people were killed, more than Breaks record of hourly rainfall in China
(HKO recorded 145 mm/hr in 2008)
1 million people were relocated, and more
than 9 million people were affected.
 “New Normal” in Weather and Climate
• Extreme Weather has become the New Normal
related to Climate Change
Typhoon Bavi, 21-28th Aug, 2020 Haishen, 31st Aug-

Maysak, 27th Aug-4th Sep

On average, 1.2
typhoons hit northeast
China per year,
however, 3 typhoons
hit NE within one
month in 2020.
 Flood Forecasting

National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, https://water.weather.gov/ahps/

 Challenges in adaptation

?
Uncertainties

Climate change can alter the cost-risk relations of hydrological facilities.

 Floating village in Cambodia
Source: Mak (2011)
California drought
If we need some mathematical
calculation, how confident do you feel?
A. 5, I am the math genius
B. 4, I am good at math
C. 3, I can do calculation
D. 2, I need time to digest
E. 1, I need more time to digest
F. 0, can I quit?

We will use some mathematical descriptions, but there are no complex calculations.
Course Content
Course Assessment
Course Assessment
 Outline

◼ Hydrology as a science
◼ The hydrologic cycle
◼ Water balance equation
◼ Professional associations and scientific
journals for hydrologists
◼ Water problems and challenges
Hydrology as a science

Anthrosphere – made and modified by humans for use in human activities and human habitats.
What is the biggest anthropogenic effect on atmosphere and the entire earth system in human civilization?
Hydrology as a science
The cryosphere is an important part of the global Earth system
Cryosphere: frozen water on Earth’s surface
• ‘cryo’ in Greek means ice cold ( )
• Stores 77% of world’s freshwater
• Linked to water cycle, sea level change, surface energy and gas exchange

Sea Ice Greenland

Ice Sheet

Mountain
Glaciers

Not shown on this map:

• Snow cover
• Lake/river ice
• Permafrost

Antarctica Ice Sheet

Hydrology as a science
Hydrology is the scientific discipline concerned with the waters of the
Earth, with their occurrence, distribution, and circulation by means of the
hydrologic cycle and relations with living things. It also deals with the
physical and chemical properties of water in all its phases. Dominantly an
engineering (civil and agricultural) principle until the 1970s, empirical rather
than theoretically based, evolution to a physical and earth science

Hydrology as a multidisciplinary earth science:

Precipitation and evaporation - climatology and meteorology
Infiltration - soil science (pedology)
Groundwater flow - geology
Surface runoff - geomorphology
Streamflow - fluid mechanics and hydraulics
Water quality (transport and transformation of constituents) - chemistry,
physics, and biology (biochemical decay, precipitation, dissolving,
dispersion, and chemical reactions)
Randomness of hydrologic processes - statistics and information technology
Spatial variability of hydrologic and watershed characteristics - GIS and
remote sensing
The hydrologic cycle
The hydrologic cycle is the most fundamental principle of hydrology. Water
evaporates from the oceans and the land surface, precipitates again as rain or
snow, is intercepted by trees and vegetation, provides runoff on the land surface,
infiltrates into soils, recharges groundwater, discharges into streams, and ultimately
flows out into the oceans from which it will eventually evaporate once again.
The hydrologic cycle
Video: Hydrologic cycle
Video: Atmospheric river (1)
Video: Atmospheric river (2)
The hydrologic cycle
What are the energy sources for the hydrologic cycle?

Heat energy absorbed and released

Through hydrologic cycle and associated

phase changes of water, the absorbed solar
energy is re-distributed in the earth.
Water balance equation

Water balance – For a system (large or small catchment, small water pond or large reservoir,
a piece of leave), input minus output equals to the change of storage, i.e., I - O = S. For the
long-term multi-year average, I = O. (mass conservation)
Water balance equation
Land surface: 100 = 61 + 39

Ocean surface: 385 + 39 = 424

Earth surface: 100 + 385 = 61 + 424

Land atmosphere: 61 + 39 = 100

Ocean atmosphere: 424 = 385 + 39

Earth atmosphere: 61 + 424 = 100 + 385

Implications
Land surface: runoff source, coming from P and getting affected by E
Ocean surface: runoff sink, coming from R
Earth surface: P equals to E
Land atmosphere: water vapor sink, coming from land surface E and ocean atmosphere advection
Ocean atmosphere: water vapor source, coming from ocean surface E
Earth atmosphere: evaporation equals to condensation (precipitation)
Water balance equation
Amount of water:
Volume (L3) – m3, liter, ml flow rate, discharge
Depth (L) – mm, cm, in rainfall, evaporation

Volume = Depth * Area

Units are very important!

Water balance equation
Water Balance for a watershed at a long-term multi-year average time scale
Precip = Evap + Runoff

Runoff Coefficient (徑流系数) = Runoff/Precipitation

 50mm
25mm 200mm

400mm
800mm

2000mm

四百毫米(15英寸)等降水线是东亚大陆农耕区与游牧区的大体边界
长城屹立在中国大陆四百毫米等降水线的崇山峻岭间
 Region Preciptation Runoff (mm) Aridity index Runoff Area (%)
(mm) coefficient
Very humid > 1600 > 1000 < 0.5 > 0.5 7.8
Humid 800 - 1600 300 - 1000 0.5 – 1.0 0.25 – 0.5 26.1
Semi-humid 400 - 800 50 – 300 1-3 0.1 – 0.25 18.6
Semi-arid 200 - 400 10 - 50 3-7 < 0.1 20.9
Arid < 200 < 10 >7 26.6
Professional associations and scientific journals
for hydrologists
GRM Undergraduate International
Conference Award (GRMUICA) Scheme
Aims
The GRM Undergraduate International Conference Award (GRMUICA) Scheme supports
meritorious full-time undergraduate students in the BSSC in Geography and Resource
Management (GRM) Programme to present research at recognized national, regional, and
international conferences outside Hong Kong. This experience fosters students’ postgraduate
study potential, helps them build professional networks, and enhances the practical
application of academic skills.
Award Details
1. Amount: Maximum HK$15,000 per recipient, determined by the applicant’s justified
budget.
2. Quota: Two awards per academic year.
3. Coverage: Registration fee, visa application cost, accommodation, and non-local travel
expenses directly related to conference attendance. Subsistence and local travel
expenses are not covered.
Deadline: Applications for 2024-25 are due Wednesday, 11 December 2024, 23:59 (Hong
Kong Time). The results will be announced by 31 December 2024. The event must take place
between 1 January 2025 and 30 November 2025. Late or incomplete applications will NOT be
considered.
Professional associations and scientific journals
for hydrologists
Professional associations and scientific journals
for hydrologists
Compound floods:
▪ Simultaneous or successive occurrences of different types of floods
▪ Larger impacts than individual type of floods
▪ Individual floods may not be
extreme, but the combination
of them can cause extreme
impacts (Bevacqua et al. 2017).

dsd.gov.hk
Water problems and challenges
Climate Climate
Variations Change

Human
Activities

Water -- an indispensable and potentially

renewable resource

World Water Day 22th March

Water security is defined as the capacity

of a population to safeguard sustainable access
to adequate quantities of acceptable quality
water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-
being, and socio-economic development, for
ensuring protection against water-borne
pollution and water-related disasters, and for
preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace
and political stability. (UN-Water, 2013)
 Water problems and challenges
◼ Flood and water logging hazards - too much water (洪涝灾害 )
◼ Droughts and shortage of water - too little water (干旱缺水 )
◼ Water pollution and degradation of aquatic ecosystems - too dirty the water (水生态环境恶化 )
Water problems and challenges

Importance of hydrology to society

◼ Water use – water quantity, the withdrawal of water from lakes, rivers,
and aquifers for water supply to cities, industries, and agriculture, the
instream use of water for hydropower and recreation, and the protection of
wildlife, both plant and animal life, which inhabits these water systems.
Hydrology is an input into the broader field of water resources planning and
management, technical, legal, and political mechanisms.

◼ Water control - control of hydrologic extremes, principally floods, and the

erosion and sediment transport which occur during floods. Hydrology is
especially dependent upon hydraulics in these tasks.

◼ Pollution control – the quality dimension of water resources, prevention

of the spread of pollutants or contaminants in natural water bodies, and the
cleanup of existing pollution.