The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to hydrology:
Hydrology – study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability.
Hydrology can be described as all of the following:
a branch of sciencea branch of natural sciencea branch of physical sciencea branch of Earth sciencea branch of geographya branch of physical geographyWaterHydrologic cycleCryospherewater on EarthHydrometry – the measurement of the different components of the hydrologic cycleChemical hydrology – the study of the chemical characteristics of waterEcohydrology – the study of interactions between organisms and the hydrologic cycleHydrogeology – the study of the presence and movement of water in aquifersHydroinformatics – the adaptation of information technology to hydrology and water resources applicationsHydrometeorology – the study of the transfer of water and energy between land and water body surfaces and the lower atmosphereIsotope hydrology – the study of the isotopic signatures of waterSurface hydrology – the study of hydrologic processes that operate at or near the Earth's surfaceCatchment hydrology – study of the governing processes in a given hydrologically-defined catchmentDrainage basin management – covers water-storage, in the form of reservoirs, and flood-protection.Water quality – includes the chemistry of water in rivers and lakes, both of pollutants and natural solutes.History of hydrology
Field capacityWater cycle (aka "hydrological cycle")
Above groundEvaporation –Pan evaporation –Condensation –Precipitation – condensed water, is pulled by gravity back to Earth, in the form of:DrizzleRainSleetSnowGraupelHailInterception –Evapotranspiration –Stemflow –Throughfall –On groundSurface runoff – flow of surface waterFirst flushFloodsFlash floodsOverland flow –Horton overland flow –Below groundInfiltration –Pipeflow –Baseflow –Subsurface flow – flow of ground waterGround waterSoil moistureSurface waterDesertification/Oasification –Hypoxia –Erosion –Water pollution –Aquifer characterizationFlow directionPiezometer - groundwater pressure and, by inference, groundwater depth (see: aquifer test)Conductivity, storativity, transmisivityGeophysical methodsVadose zone characterizationInfiltrationInfiltrometer - infiltrationSoil moistureCapacitance probe-soil moistureTime domain reflectometer - soil moistureTensiometer - soil moistureSolute samplingGeophysical methodsWater levelMechanical pressure gauge –Electronic pressure gauge –Acoustic pressure gauge –Channel shapeDumpy level –DischargeAcoustic Doppler velocimeter –Dilution tracing –PrecipitationRain gauge – rainfall depth (unit) and intensity (unit time−1)Disdrometer – raindrop size, total precipitation depth and intensityDoppler weather radar – raindrop size, total precipitation depth and intensity, rain cloud reflectivity converted to precipitation intensity through calibration to rain gaugesWind profiler – precipitation vertical and horizontal motion, vertical cross-section of reflectivity and typingFrozen precipitation (on ground)Pressure sensors – pressure, depth, and liquid water equivalentAcoustic sensors – pressure, depth, and liquid water equivalentMean windspeed and directionAnemometer –Doppler sonar –Wind profiler – air vertical and horizontal motionMean air temperatureThermometer –HumidityInfrared thermometer – a form of remote sensingHygrometer (Psychrometer) – measures relative humidityAir pressureBarometer –Heat fluxNet radiometer –Pyranometer –Pyrgeometer –Heat flux sensor –Lysimeter –Cloudiness/SunshineSpectroradiometer –Campbell–Stokes recorder –Evapotranspiration Water budget methodBasin water balance –Evaporation pan –Lysimetry –Soil moisture depletion –Water vapor transfer methodBowen ratio – considers the energy budgetEddy covariance –Component analysisPorometry/Sap flow –Interception loss –Soil evaporation –Large-scaleScintillometer –Remote sensing estimates –LIDAR –Bulk density & porosityOven dried sample –Matric potentialSuction plate – determines relationship between the water volume and matric potentialResistance thermometer – relates to matric potential from previous calibrationHydraulic conductivityDisc permeameter – measures soil hydraulic conductivityRainfall simulator – measures output through the application of constant input ("rain") in a sealed areaSlug test – addition or removal of water and monitors the time until return to predisturbance levelPiezometer –Soil moisture content (water volume percentage)Frequency domain sensor –Time domain reflectometer –Neutron probe –ConductivityElectrical conductivity – variety of probes usedpHpH meter –Dissolved oxygen (DO)Winkler test –TurbidityNephelometer (Turbidimeter) –Water claritySecchi disk –Bed loadErosion/depositionBehavioral modeling in hydrologyBasin
Hack's law –Catchment
Water balance –Evaporation
Penman –Penman-Monteith –Infiltration/Soil Movement
Darcy's Law –Darcy-Weisbach –Richards equation –Streamflow/Open channel
Fick's law of diffusion –Chézy formula –Manning formula –Strahler number –Standard Step Method – computational technique for modeling steady state open channel surface profilesErosion
Hjulstrøm curve –Groundwater
Dupuit–Forchheimer assumption –Groundwater flow equation –Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficientGLUECanadian Land Surface SchemeCHyM – Cetemps Hydrological ModelDRAINMOD[1]DSSAMFEHMFlood Modeller ProGroundwater modelGSSHAHBV hydrology modelHEC-HMSHydroGeoSphereHydrologic Evaluation of Landfill PerformanceHydrological transport modelIsochrone mapLitpackMETRICMIKE 11MODFLOWMOHID water modelling systemMOHID LandMOUSE DHIRheinBlick2050Runoff model (reservoir)SahysModSaltModSEDCADSHETRANStochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution ModelSWAT modelTemporal AnalystVfloWAFLEXWaterGAPWEAPZOOMQ3DSome examples of applications of hydrology:
Analyzing the impacts of antecedent moisture on sanitary sewer systemsAssessing contaminant transport risk and establishing environmental policy guidelinesAssessing the impacts of natural and anthropogenic environmental change on water resourcesDesigning bridgesDesigning dams for water supply or hydroelectric power generationDesigning irrigation schemes and managing agricultural productivityDesigning riparian restoration projectsDesigning sewers and urban drainage systemDetermining the agricultural water balanceDetermining the water balance of a regionFog collectionPart of the hazard module in catastrophe modelingPredicting and mitigating flood, landslide and drought riskPredicting geomorphologic changes, such as erosion or sedimentationProviding drinking waterReal-time flood forecasting and flood warningInternational Hydrological Programme (IHP)International Water Management Institute (IWMI)UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water EducationCentre for Ecology and Hydrology – UKCentre for Water Science, Cranfield University, UKeawag – aquatic research, ETH Zürich, SwitzerlandInstitute of Hydrology, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, GermanyUnited States Geological Survey – Water Resources of the United StatesNOAA's National Weather Service – Office of Hydrologic Development, USAUS Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center, USAHydrologic Research Center, USANOAA Economics and Social Sciences, USAUniversity of Oklahoma Center for Natural Hazards and Disasters Research, USANational Hydrology Research Centre, CanadaNational Institute of Hydrology, IndiaNational and international societies
Geological Society of America (GSA) – Hydrogeology DivisionAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU) – Hydrology SectionNational Ground Water Association (NGWA)American Water Resources AssociationConsortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI)International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)Statistics in Hydrology Working Group (subgroup of IAHS)German Hydrological Society (DHG: Deutsche Hydrologische Gesellschaft)Italian Hydrological Society (SII-IHS) – http://www.sii-ihs.itNordic Association for HydrologyBritish Hydrological SocietyRussian Geographical Society (Moscow Center) – Hydrology CommissionInternational Association for Environmental HydrologyInternational Association of HydrogeologistsBasin- and catchment-wide overviews
Connected Waters Initiative, University of New South Wales – Investigating and raising awareness of groundwater and water resource issues in AustraliaMurray Darling Basin Initiative, Department of Environment and Heritage, AustraliaHydrological Processes, ISSN 1099-1085 (electronic) 0885-6087 (paper), John Wiley & SonsHydrology Research, ISSN 0029-1277, IWA Publishing (formerly Nordic Hydrology)Journal of Hydroinformatics, ISSN 1464-7141, IWA PublishingJournal of Hydrologic Engineering, ISSN 0733-9496, ASCE PublicationJournal of HydrologyWater ResearchWater Resources ResearchHydrological Sciences Journal - Journal of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) ISSN 0262-6667 (Print), ISSN 2150-3435 (Online)Ven Te Chow, Professor of Hydraulic Engineering, University of Illinois. Most noted for the 1964 compendium of water resources technology and methods titled "Handbook of Applied Hydrology", published by McGraw-Hill Book Company. Library of Congress Catalogue number 63-13931.
Aquatic chemistry –Civil engineering –Hydraulic engineering –Climatology –Environmental engineering –Environmental Engineering Science –Geomorphology –Hydroacoustics –Hydrography –Limnology –Oceanography –Physical geography –Drainage basins by area – largest hydrologically defined watersheds in the worldFloods – chronological and geographic list of major floods worldwideWaterways – worldwide listing of waterbodies classified as rivers, canals, estuarys, and firths