The Hydrological System

Cintia Bertacchi Uvo

 Learning Goals
• Hydrological cycle
• Climate and water availability
• Catchment area
• Water balance equation (continuity equation)
• Runoff coefficient
• How to calculate pollutant transport out from
the project area

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
 Human Activities

Source: http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/Publications/Short_Series/LakeReservoirs-2/9.asp

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Water Use and Consumption
Global Household

Source: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP, UN-Water)

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
 Climate and Water Availability

Solar Radiation

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Atmospheric Circulation

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

http://schoolworkhelper.net/
 Atmospheric Circulation

cloud animation
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
 Main Deserts of the World

Source: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/deserts/what/world.html

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Variation in precipitation
• Monthly precipitation in Lund since 1753
[mm]

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Water Balance

Interception losses
(evaporation from leafs, etc.)

Transpiration
P (from plants)

Soil evaporation

E
Runoff
Q
ΔM Soil water
Groundwater flow

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Swedish boreal forest numbers in mm/year

Water balance
for different
climates
Semiarid steppe
Swedish boreal forest

Semiarid steppe

Tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforest

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Water Balance Equation
What comes in has to go out or be stored

P – Q – E = ΔM
P
E

• P = precipitation
• E = evapotranspiration
Δ
• Q = runoff
M

• ΔM = change in M
Q

storage
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
 Examples of water balance calculation
• For an area the annual precipitation is 1300 mm/year
and annual evapotranspiration is 800 mm/year. What is
the average runoff if there is no storage during the
year?

• For the same area precipitation was 700 and

evapotranspiration 500 mm during 6 months. What
was the runoff if the increase in water storage was 100
mm?

• Remember to ALWAYS use the same the units when

doing a water balance (mm/month, mm/day, mm/30
min, …)
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
 Mean Values of Q, E and P [mm/year]

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Local water
balance

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Water Balance within an area
• Commonly Water Balance is made within a
catchment area, that is
• Rainfall collecting area upstream a certain
point in the water course

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Catchment
• Catchment area is defined by topographical
water divide

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Catchment size
• 106 km2
– Amazon 7 x 106 km2

• 102 km2
– Skarsvatn 86 km2
– Bulken 1094 km2

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Thousands of sub
catchments

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Runoff Coefficient
Ex. 1.1 Two rainfall events, just after one another, falls over a catchment. After the
first rainfall of 24 mm, a total runoff of 11 mm was observed. The second
rainfall is measured to about 14 mm. How large runoff can be expected after the
second rainfall?

Rain 1; P1 = 24 mm
Q1 = 11 mm
P
Rain 2; P2 = 14 mm
Q2 = ?

k = Q/P
Q

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Use of Water Balance Equation
Ex. 1.1 A 121 ha large lake has an inflow via a river corresponding to 0.425 m3/s.
There is also an outflow from the lake via another river that corresponds to
0.368 m3/s. During one month the water level in the lake increases
corresponding to 19.7 · 103 m3. During the same month it rained 33 mm. How
large was the total evaporation from the lake during this month (1 ha = 10 000
m2)?

Qin

Lake
Qout

Solution:
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
 Water Storage

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology

 Water Storage
Ex. 1.1 For a catchment with an area of 20 km2 an average of 732 mm/year of
precipitation and total evaporation of 550 mm/year has been observed during a
10-year period. Within the catchment there is an old waste dump and in the
outflow water high phosphorous (P) contents have been found 0.25 mg/l P.
What is the annual mass transport of phosphorous in the water out from the
catchment?
P - E - Q = ΔM

P E

A = 20 km2
P = 732 mm/year
E = 550 mm/year
Q, C
C = 0.25 mg/l P

VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology