HYDROLOGY
Engr. Dexter G. Coquilla, CE, M.Eng. (AIT)
Professorial Lecturer SMCT Engineering Program
Water Resources and Hydraulics Engineering Specialist
PICE Accreditation No. 49
Board of Director- PICE North Davao Chapter 2001-2022
Member| Structural Engineers Association of Davao (SEAD)
Definition of Hydrology
It is the science that deals with all aspects of
the water available on the earth. It includes
study of occurrence of water, its properties, its
distribution and circulation and also its effects
on the living things and their surroundings.
Hydrologic cycle
Elements of the hydrologic cycle
INCOMING WATER VAPOUR OUTGOING WATER VAPOR
ATMOSPHERIC WATER
EVAPO- EVAPORATION PRECIPITATION EVAPORATION
TRANSPIRATION
SURFACE STORAGE
OVERLAND FLOW
INFILTRATION
NETWORK
INTER FLOW RUN OFF
SOIL WATER OF
CHANNELS
CAPILLARY RIVERS
GRAVITY WATER
RISE LAKES
GROUND WATER
GROUND WATER
OUT FLOW
DEEP PERCOLATION
Hydrologic Cycle
The hydrologic cycle begins with the evaporation of water from the surface
of the ocean. As moist air is lifted, it cools and water vapor condenses to
form clouds. Moisture is transported around the globe until it returns to the
surface as precipitation. Once the water reaches the ground, one of two
processes may occur; 1) some of the water may evaporate back into the
atmosphere or 2) the water may penetrate the surface and
become groundwater. Groundwater either seeps its way to into the oceans,
rivers, and streams, or is released back into the atmosphere
through transpiration. The balance of water that remains on the earth's
surface is runoff, which empties into lakes, rivers and streams and is carried
back to the oceans, where the cycle begins again. It may be properly
considered as constituting of two main divisions, they are:
• ATMOSPHERIC DIVISION
• SURFACE DIVISION
Broadly, the whole subject matter can be expressed in the form of a mathematical equation.
The equation is:
P = R + L or
Precipitation=Runoff + Losses
P= indicates total water supply of water from all forms of falling moisture and mainly
includes rainfall and snowfall
R= runoff represents surplus water that flows over the surface to join some
into rivers and seas
L= the term losses includes that portion of water which goes to atmosphere and
underground by the processes like evaporation and percolation, respectively. Thus, with
the background of hydrologic cycle it will be clear that the term losses never implies that water is lost and
cannot be used again. It is the water that temporarily disappears from view (e.g.
evaporation, seepage, etc.) and given favorable conditions, reappears to perform various duties.
The subject of hydrology mainly involves:
• Assessment of catchment rainfall
• Assessment of dependable flow
• Design flood computations for safety of hydraulic structures
• Assessment of losses
• Calculation of useful life and capacity of reservoir
Atmospheric Moisture and Precipitation
• Three States of Water
• The Hydrosphere and the Hydrologic Cycle
• Humidity
• The Adiabatic Process
• Clouds
• Precipitation
Three States of Water
Water exists in three states:
solid, liquid and gas
A change of state requires the
input of heat energy called
latent heat
Three States of Water
Energy Energy
added extracted
Evaporation =
Water latent heat of
vapour vaporization
co
nd
n
tio
en
ma
sa
ion
ev
tio
ap
bli
sit
n
or
su
po
at
de
io
n
freezing
Solid water Liquid Water
melting
Three States of Water
Water exists in
the air in the
form of water
vapor, clouds,
fog, and
precipitation
Figure 4.1, p. 121
The Hydrosphere and the Hydrologic Cycle
The Hydrosphere and the Hydrologic Cycle
The global
water balance
constantly
cycles between
these reservoirs
Movement of
water between
these reservoirs
constitutes the
hydrologic cycle
Figure 4.3, p. 122
Relative Humidity
(The measure we encounter daily)
Measure of the amount of water vapor present
in air relative to the maximum amount that the
air can contain at a given temperature (%)
• e.g. if relative humidity is 50%, then it contains 1/2 the
amount of water vapor it could hold at a given
temperature
Temp.
Relative humidity decreases as Increase,
Then
temperature increases ability to
RH
hold
Decreases
water
increases
Relative Humidity and Temperature
Figure 4.7, p. 125
Dew Point Temperature
• As air is cooled it eventually becomes
saturated (100% relative humidity)
• the temperature of saturation is called the dew
point temperature
• If cooling continues, condensation begins and
dew forms
The Adiabatic Process
(heating or cooling of air that results from a change of
the volume of air)
When a gas expands, its volume increases and
its pressure and temperature decrease and vice-
versa.
The adiabatic lapse rate is used to quantify how
the temperature of air decreases as it rises or
increases as it ascends
Lapse rates differ for dry (unsaturated) and wet
(saturated) air masses
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate
Decrease in
temperature
with altitude:
5.5˚F/1000ft
(decrease in
air pressure,
air expands)
Figure 4.10, p. 127
Wet (Saturated) Adiabatic Lapse Rate
Ranges from 2 to 4° F/1000ft – 3.5°F/100ft
Varies because it depends on temperature,
pressure and water vapor content
Less than the DALR because as water
condenses it releases latent heat, so the
temperature decrease is less
Wet Adiabatic Lapse Rate
As a parcel of
air rises, it cools
and becomes
saturated at the
dew point
When it reaches
its dew point,
condensation
occurs (lifting
condensation
level)
Figure 4.10, p. 127
Atmospheric Moisture and Precipitation
• Three States of Water
• The Hydrosphere and the Hydrologic Cycle
• Humidity
• The Adiabatic Process
• Clouds
• Rising Air
3 WAYS AIR RISES
Convectional
Orographic
Frontal (cyclonic)
Convectional
2. Orographic lifting
And California… and San Diego
3.) Frontal (cyclonic) precipitation
Where air masses with different temperatures come
together
• Warm air lifted by cold dense air along a weather
front
• Leads to frontal precipitation
????? Front
Clouds are the source of precipitation
1. Water vapor condenses
around particles, water
droplets collide forming
larger droplets until they are
too large to stay in the air
and fall to the ground as
precipitation
2. In Cold clouds water freezes
forming ice crystals that are
too heavy and fall to the
ground
Types of Precipitation:
• Rain
• Freezing rain (ice crystals freeze onto a frozen
surface)
• Snow (ice crystals have not melted)
• Sleet (ice crystals melt as they fall)
Atmospheric Moisture and Precipitation
• Three States of Water
• The Hydrosphere and the Hydrologic Cycle
• Humidity
• The Adiabatic Process
• Clouds
• Precipitation
Clouds
Made up of water droplets and/or ice particles
Form when air is saturated AND contains
particles (condensation nuclei) e.g. dust, salts
Clouds
Families and Forms:
• Classified into four families: high, medium and low clouds and
clouds with vertical development
• Two major classes:
• Stratiform (layered): blanket like covering large areas
• Cumuliform (convective or piled up): globular masses associated with parcels
of rising air.
Naming Clouds
Latin Root Translation Example
cumulus heap cumulus
stratus layer altostratus
cirrus curl of hair cirrus
nimbus rain cumulonimbus
Cloud Height determines cloud Prefix. Ex: “cirr”=high level
“alto”= mid-level
Fog
• Cloud layer at or close to the Earth’s surface
• Radiation fog forms at night when air near the
ground falls below the dew point temperature
• Advection fog forms when warm moist air moves
over a cool surface
• Sea fog forms when cool
marine air comes in contact
with cold ocean currents
Atmospheric Moisture and Precipitation
• Three States of Water
• The Hydrosphere and the Hydrologic Cycle
• Humidity
• The Adiabatic Process
• Clouds
• Precipitation
The subject of hydrology mainly involves:
• Assessment of catchment rainfall:
• Assessment of dependable flow:
• Design flood computations for safety of hydraulic structures:
• Assessment of losses: and
• Calculation of useful life and capacity of reservoirs.
