Fundamentals of Hydrology

Tim Davie

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781135106829
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Biowissenschaften
• Subtopic: Ökosysteme & Lebensräume

The third edition of Fundamentals of Hydrology provides an absorbing and comprehensive introduction to the understanding of how fresh water moves on and around the planet and how humans affect and manage the freshwater resources available to them.

The book consists of three parts, each of fundamental importance in the understanding of hydrology:

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• The first section deals with processes within the hydrological cycle, our understanding of them, and how to measure and estimate the amount of water within each process. This also includes an analysis of how each process impacts upon water quality issues.

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• The second section is concerned with the measurement and analytical assessment of important hydrological parameters such as streamflow and water quality. It describes analytical and modelling techniques used by practising hydrologists in the assessment of water resources.

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• The final section of the book draws together the first two parts to discuss the management of freshwater with respect to both water quality and quantity in a changing world.

Fundamentals of Hydrology is a lively and accessible introduction to the study of hydrology at university level. It gives undergraduates a thorough understanding of hydrological processes, knowledge of the techniques used to assess water resources, and an up-to-date overview of water resource management. Throughout the text, examples and case studies from all around the world are used to clearly explain ideas and techniques. Essay questions, guides to further reading, and website links are also included.

1
Hydrology as a Science

Introduction

Quite literally, hydrology is ‘the science or study of’ (‘logy’ from Latin logia) ‘water’ (‘hydro’ from Greek hudor). However, contemporary hydrology does not study all the properties of water. Modern hydrology is concerned with the distribution of water on the surface of the earth; its movement over and beneath the surface, and through the atmosphere. This wide-ranging definition suggests that all water comes under the remit of a hydrologist, while in reality it is the study of fresh water that is of primary concern. The study of the saline water on earth is carried out in oceanography.

When studying the distribution and movement of water it is inevitable that the role of human interaction with it comes into play. Although human needs for water are not the only motivating force in a desire to understand hydrology, they are probably the strongest. This book attempts to integrate the physical processes of hydrology with an understanding of human interaction with fresh water. The human interaction can take the form of water quantity problems (e.g. over-extraction of groundwater) or water quality issues (e.g. disposal of pollutants).

Water is among the most essential requisites that nature provides to sustain life for plants, animals and humans. The total quantity of fresh water on earth could satisfy all the needs of the human population if it were evenly distributed and accessible.

(Stumm 1986: 201)

Although written around 30 years ago, the views expressed by Stumm are still apt today. The real point of Stumm’s statement is that water on earth is not evenly distributed and is not evenly accessible. It is the purpose of hydrology as a pure science to explore these disparities and try to explain them. It is the aim of hydrology as an applied science to take the knowledge of why any disparities exist and try to lessen the impact of them. There is much more to hydrology than just supplying water for human needs (e.g. studying floods as natural hazards; the investigation of lakes and rivers for ecological habitats), but analysis of this quotation gives good grounds for looking at different approaches to the study of hydrology.

The two main pathways to the study of hydrology come from engineering and geography, particularly the earth science side of geography. The earth science approach comes from the study of landforms (geomorphology) and is rooted in a history of explaining the processes that lead to water moving around the earth and to try to understand spatial links between the processes. The engineering approach tends to be a little more practically based and looks towards finding solutions to problems posed by water moving (or not moving) around the earth. In reality there are huge areas of overlap between the two and it is often difficult to separate them, particularly when you enter into hydrological research. At an undergraduate level, however, the difference manifests itself through earth science hydrology being more descriptive (understanding processes) and engineering hydrology being more numerate (quantifying flows). Within the broad discipline of hydrology there are also areas of specialisation. For example, some hydrologists focus on groundwater and this specialised area is known as geohydrology or hydrogeology. In recent decades another area of specialisation has emerged; that of ecohydrology or hydroecology. This is the study of hydrology in relation to the natural aquatic environment (e.g. rivers and wetlands) and the important interdependence of water and ecosystems.

The approach taken in this book is more towards the earth science side, a reflection of the authors’ training and interests, but it is inevitable that there is considerable crossover. There are parts of the book that describe numerical techniques of fundamental importance to any practising hydrologist from whatever background, and it is hoped that the book can be used by all undergraduate students of hydrology.

Throughout the book there are highlighted case studies to illustrate different points made in the text. The case studies are drawn from research projects or different hydrological events around the world and are aimed at reinforcing the text elsewhere in the same chapter. Where appropriate, there are highlighted worked examples illustrating the use of a particular technique on a real data set.

Importance of Water

Water is the most common substance on the surface of the earth, with the oceans covering over 70 per cent of the planet. Water is one of the few substances that can be found in all three states (i.e. gas, liquid and solid) within the earth’s climatic range. The very presence of water in all three forms makes it possible for the earth to have a climate that is habitable for life forms: water acts as a climate ameliorator through the energy absorbed and released during transformation between the different phases. In addition to lessening climatic extremes the transformation of water between gas, liquid and solid phases is vital for the transfer of energy around the globe: moving energy from the equatorial regions towards the poles. The low viscosity of water makes it an extremely efficient transport agent, whether through international shipping or river and canal navigation. These characteristics can be described as the physical properties of water and they are critical for human survival on planet earth.

The chemical properties of water are equally important for our everyday existence. Water is one of the best solvents naturally occurring on the planet. This makes water vital for cleanliness: we use it for washing but also for the disposal of pollutants. The solvent properties of water allow the uptake of vital nutrients from the soil and into plants; this then allows the transfer of the nutrients within a plant’s structure. The ability of water to dissolve gases such as oxygen allows life to be sustained within bodies of water such as rivers, lakes and oceans.

The capability of water to support life goes beyond bodies of water; the human body is composed of around 60 per cent water. The majority of this water is within cells, but there is a significant proportion (around 34 per cent) that moves around the body carrying dissolved chemicals which are vital for sustaining our lives (Ross and Wilson 1981). Our bodies can store up energy reserves that allow us to survive without food for weeks but not more than days without water.

There are many other ways that water affects our very being. In places such as Norway, parts of the USA and New Zealand, energy generation for domestic and industrial consumption is through hydro-electric schemes, harnessing the combination of water and gravity in a (by and large) sustainable manner. Water plays a large part in the spiritual lives of millions of people. In Christianity, baptism with water is a powerful symbol of cleansing and God offers ‘streams of living water’ to those who believe (John 7:38). In Islam there is washing with water before entering a mosque for prayer. In Hinduism, bathing in the sacred Ganges provides a religious cleansing. Many other religions give water an important role in sacred texts and rituals.

Water is important because it underpins our very existence: it is part of our physical, material and spiritual lives. The study of water would therefore also seem to underpin our very existence. Before expanding further on the study of hydrology it is first necessary to step back and take a closer look at the properties of water briefly outlined above. Even though water is the most comm...