CHAPTER FOUR

HYDROLOGIC CYCLE AND

SOME COMPONENTS
4.1 DEFINITION OF
HYDROLOGY

 Hydrology is the science of the origin,

distribution and properties of the waters
of the earth.
 It deals with the study of water as it
occurs on, over and under the earth
surface.
 This includes precipitation, evaporation,
runoff, groundwater etc.
4.2 HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

 This is a graphical description of how water

moves.
 The hydrologic cycle is a cyclic movement of
water from the sea to the atmosphere and
thence by precipitation to the earth where it
collects in streams and runs back to the sea.
 The cycle can be visualized as beginning
with the evaporation of water from oceans
and land masses and by trees through
transpiration.
Hydrologic Cycle
Hydrologic Cycle Contd.

 The vapour is carried by moving air masses

which upon proper conditions is condensed
to form clouds which in turn falls as
precipitation to the earth.
 The greater part of the water which falls on
the land is temporarily retained in the soil
and returns to the atmosphere by
evaporation and transpiration by plants.
Hydrologic Cycle Contd.

 A portion of the water which enters the soil

forms part of the groundwater and flows back
to the stream.
 Another portion of it flows parallel to the soil
surface and enters the stream. This portion
of water does not hit the water table and is
called lateral flow (see Fig. 1.1).
 There is also the overland flow which just
moves on the surface of the soil into the
stream.
Hydrologic Cycle Concluded

 The overland flow (surface flow), the lateral

flow and the groundwater under the
influence of gravity move towards lower
elevations from where they may eventually
discharge into the ocean.
 A lot of this water is lost to the atmosphere
by evaporation and transpiration before
reaching the ocean.
 COMPONENTS OF THE
HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
 The hydrologic characteristics of a given
region are determined largely by its climate
and its geological structure, the climate
playing a dominant part.
 The climatic factors that affect the
hydrological features of an area or region
are:
 Amount and Distribution of Precipitation,
 The occurrence of Snow and Ice (in
Temperate Regions),
 The Effects of Wind, Temperature and
Humidity on Evaporation.
COMPONENTS OF THE
HYDROLOGIC CYCLE CONTD.

 The design and operation of hydrologic projects

involve meteorological considerations.
 Hydrologic problems in which meteorology plays an
important role include the
 Determination of probable maximum precipitation
for spillway design,
 Forecasts of precipitation for reservoir operation,
and
 Determination of probable maximum winds over
water surfaces for evaluating resulting waves in
connection with the design of dams.
Temperature

 Temperature can be measured using the

maximum and minimum thermometers.

 Temperature Terminologies
 (a) Mean daily temperature: This is the
average of the maximum and minimum
temperatures.

 (b) Mean monthly temperature: The

average of the mean monthly daily maximum
and minimum temperatures.
Temperature Terminologies
Continued

 (c) Mean annual temperature: The

average of the monthly means for the year.

 (d) Normal temperature: The average

daily mean temperature for a specified time
usually 30 years. Every 10 years, the data
for the first 10 years is dropped.
Temperature Terminologies
Concluded

 (e) Daily Range in Temperature: The

difference between the highest and lowest
temperatures recorded on a particular day.

 (f) Lapse Rate or Vertical Temperature

Gradient: This is the drop of temperature
with rise in elevation. For every 300 m rise,
temperature drop is 3.6° or 2.1° C.
WIND

 The important parameters of wind are wind

speed, wind run and wind direction.
 The wind speed is measured using an
anemometer while its direction is measured
with a wind vane.
 Wind speed is given in miles per hour,
metres per second or knots(1 knot = 1.151
miles/hr).
Hand-Held Anemometer
Wind contd.

 The conventional anemometer is the cup

anemometer made up of 3 or 4 cups
arranged in a circular form rotating around a
vertical axis.
 The wind speed is the speed of rotation of
the cups while the wind run, which is the
distance a particular parcel of air is moving
through in a given time, is given by the total
revolutions around the axis of the cups.
Wind Measurement Concluded

 The particular height of wind speed

measurement should be specified. An
empirical relationship exists between wind
speed and height:

U/Uo = (Z/Zo)0.15

 Uo is the wind speed at height Zo and U is

that at higher level Z.
Precipitation

Precipitation includes mainly:

Rainfall,
Dew,
Fog drip,
Hail and
Drizzle, also called mist.
MEASUREMENT OF
PRECIPITATION

Rain gauges are used, There are two rain

gauge types.
 (a) Non-recording gauges for taking daily
values
 (b) Recording gauges.
 If the volume of water entering the rain
gauge is known, divide it by the area of the
catching device to get the depth of rain.
 ie. depth per unit area = Volume(mm3)/
Area(mm2)
Non-Recording Gauges

 Non-Recording gauges measure

only the total amount of rainfall and
not the intensity of the rainfall from
time to time.

 A typical non-recording gauge is

the Rain Gauge.
Rain Gauge
Rain Gauge

 All measurements are made with the

USWB(United States Weather Bureau) rain
gauge in order to effect standardization.

 The rain gauge is approximately 20 cm in

diameter and has 4 components:
 (a) Collector or receiver - 20 cm diameter
(b) Cylindrical measuring tube
 (c) Overflow can
 (d) Measuring stick.
Rain Gauge Concluded

 Water enters the receiver and goes into the

measuring tube through the funnel.
 To measure precipitation, the funnel is
removed and the precipitation measured with
a measuring stick.
 The overflow can is 10 times the size of the
measuring tube so as to collect excess water
when the need arises.
 Recording Gauges

 Recording gauges measure both the amount

of rainfall and the intensity.
 Two main types exist: tipping bucket and the
weighing gauge types.
 (a) Tipping Bucket Gauge: There are two
conical compartments fixed at a point.
 When rain that enters the equipment from
the receiver reaches 0.25 mm, it tips and
empties its contents to the reservoir below.
 This tipping is recorded by a needle on a
paper wrapped round a rotating cylinder.
Tipping Bucket Gauge
b) Weighing Type Recording
Gauge

 This is similar to the non-recording type gauge but

the overflow can rests on a scale.
 The weight of rainfall is measured on the scale and
transmitted to a Lab's rotating shaft through an
electric wire.
 There is a calibration to get the amount of
precipitation.
 Alternatively, a bucket can be set on a platform of a
spring or lever balance.
 The increasing weight of the bucket and its contents
is recorded on a chart.
 The record then shows the accumulation of
precipitation.
Weighing-Type Gauge
 Missing Precipitation Data

The missing data can result from:

• Technical fault e.g. power failure(for

the gauge) or

• From the inability of the observer to

record it.
 Estimating Missing Rainfall Data

 Missing Rainfall Data Can be estimated

Using:

 a) Arithmetic Average Method: If normal

annual precipitation at each of the three
index(nearest) stations around the missing
data gauge is within 10% of that of the
missing data, use the arithmetic average of
the stations to estimate the current rainfall
amount.
 Missing Rainfall Data Contd.

 Example: The annual and current rainfall

values for stations A, B, and C are known.
 The annual rainfall for station X is also
known but the current data is missing.
 The current missing value for station X is:

 Total current rainfall values for stations

 A, B, C / 3
 b) Normal Ratio Method

 If the annual rainfall values are not within

10%, weighted average or the Normal Ratio
method is used:

 Px = 1/3( Nx/Na Pa + Nx/Nb Pb + Nx/Nc

Pc)
Where: Px is the current rainfall value for
station X
 Pa, Pb, and Pc are the current rainfall
values for stations A, B, and C.
 Na, Nb, Nc, and Nd are the annual values
AVERAGE PRECIPITATION
OVER AN AREA

 The depth of precipitation over a specified

area, either on a storm, seasonal or annual
basis is required in many types of hydrologic
problems. There are three major methods:

 Arithmetic Mean
 Thiessen Polygon Method
 Isohyetal Method
Arithmetic Mean

 This is the simplest method.

3.6
.4.8
.8.8 .12.7
.12.4 .8.6

 Arithmetic mean = (3.6 + 4.8 + 8.8 + 12.4 +

8.6 + 12.7)/ 6 = 8.5 cm.
 The method yields good estimates in flat
country, if the gauges are uniformly
distributed and the individual gauge catches
do not vary widely from the mean.
Thiessen Method:

 The method allows for non-uniform

distribution of gauges by providing a
weighting factor for each gauge.
 The stations are plotted on a map and
connecting lines are drawn.
 Perpendicular bisectors of these lines form
polygons around each station.
 The sides of each polygon are the
boundaries of the effective area assumed for
the station.
 Isohyetal Method
 The most accurate method of averaging
precipitation over an area is the isohyetal
method.
 Station locations and amounts are plotted on
a suitable map and contours of equal
precipitation (isohyets) are then drawn.
 Multiply the areas enclosed by the isohyetal
lines by the average of their two rainfall
values.
 Do the same to all the areas, and then sum
the whole product and divide by the total
area.
FREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF
RAINFALL DATA

Definitions

 a) Historical or Actual Rainfall Data: The

historical rainfall data is the actual recorded
rainfall during a specified period.

 b) Average or Normal Rainfall: This is the
arithmetic mean derived from a record of
several years of historical rainfall data.
 Definitions Contd.

 a) Dependable Rainfall: Dependable

rainfall is defined as the rainfall which can be
expected a set number of years out of a total
number of years.
 For instance, the dependable rainfall may be the
rainfall which can be expected in 9 years out of 10
years (90%).
 The percentage (90%) gives the probability, that the
rainfall will be obtained or exceeded i.e. the
probability that the actual rainfall will be equal to or
higher than the dependable rainfall.
 One year out of 10, the rainfall amount will be
smaller.
 Dependable Rainfall Selection.

 The determination of the probability level is

related to the risk, one wants to accept.
 In the case of expensive structures such as
bridges or dams and intakes in rivers one
may want to restrict the risk, that the rainfall
(causing the flood damage) will exceed a
certain value, to once in 50 or once in 100
years.
 The corresponding probabilities of
exceedance here are 2% and 1%
respectively.
Dependable Values For
Agriculture
 For agriculture, the risks involved are the
reduction in or the loss of the yield once in so
many years.
 The selected dependable level of rainfall is
the depth of rainfall that can be expected 3
out of 4 years or 4 out of 5 years.
 The probabilities of exceedance are
respectively 75% and 80%. This ‘minimum’
rainfall is used as a design norm for the
dimensioning of the irrigation system as well
as for water management.
 Frequency Analysis

 Frequency analysis based on depth ranking

and assuming a log normal distribution is
worked out.
 The log normal distribution has been found
by Ekwue et al. (1997) to be very good for
analyzing monthly rainfall data in the
Caribbean Region.
 The procedure is as follows:
 - Rank the (n) data (Pi) in a descending
order, the highest value first and the lowest
value last.
Procedure of Frequency Analysis Contd.

 Attach a serial rank number, r to each value (Pi) with

r = 1 for the highest value (Pi) and r = n for the
lowest value (Pn)
 -Calculate the frequency of exceedance F (P>Pi) as:
 Method Frequency of exceedance
 California r/n
 Hazen (r – 0.5)/n
 Weibull r / (n+1)
 Gringorten (r – 0.44) / (n + 0.12)
 The frequency of exeedance corresponds with the
plotting position on the probability scale of the
probability paper. Plot data on normal
 Example

 1. Depth Ranking
 For demonstration, use will be
made of the monthly rainfall
data for the month of January
for Marper Farm, Manzanilla,
Trinidad (Table 2.1)
2. Plotting

 After ranking the data and

calculating the frequency of
exceedance (Table 4.2), the
calculated frequencies of
exceedance are plotted on
normal probability paper
(Figure 4.6).
 Plotting Continued

 The plotted data fall in a reasonable

alignment so, it can be assumed that the
data can be approximated by the assumed
log normal distribution.
 In some instances the normal distribution will
suffice in which case the actual rainfall
values are used in the plot instead of the
transformed log values.
 Plotting Concluded

 After fitting a straight line through the points,

the magnitude of rainfall corresponding to
various probabilities is derived from the
probability plot (Figure 4.6).

 In this example, the probability of January

rainfall exceeding 66 mm is 80%. The 20%
dependable rainfall is 210 mm.
 RAINFALL-INTENSITY-
DURATION-FREQUENCY
ANALYSIS

 The purpose of the analysis

is to predict rainfall for
design projects. There is
the need to know how often
rainfall is expected to occur.
 Definitions

 a) Rainfall Intensity: The amount of

precipitation accumulated over a unit time.

 b) Duration: A continuous period of

rainfall.

 c) Frequency/Return Period/Recurrence
Interval : This gives the average number of
years within which a given event will be
expected to occur at least once.
 Frequency Analysis

 (a) Need & Definitions: This

can be used for different purposes
e.g.
 i) the design of urban storm village
system ii)
 Design of highway culverts
 iii) Design of airport drainage.
 Frequency Analysis Contd.

 Frequency analysis of rainfall is based on

historical data. Two methods of selecting
extreme rainfall data(design rainfall data)
are:
 i) Annual Series: This involves selecting
the maximum value for each calendar year of
record.
 ii) Partial Duration Series: This involves
first establishing a base value and selecting
all values equal to or greater than the base
value.
Annual and Partial Duration
Series
 Annual Series: The highest rainfall event for
each year is chosen so that the number of
values is same as the number of years
considered.
 Partial Duration Series, a base value is set
so that each year has at least one event.
 For times of years or record > 10 years,
annual series is equal to the partial duration
series.
(b) Steps in the Analysis

 a) Choose the station to be studied.

 b) Assemble as much data as are
available for the station (total series).
 c) Decide which series will be used in
the analysis and compile the series)
arranging the data in a descending
order of magnitude.
Example
 See data sheet in tutorial sheet (Table 4.4).
E.g. for 5 min duration, annual highest
rainfall intensities of Iowa(Annual series)
from 1953 to 1966 are 85.34, 103.63,
152.40, 106.68, 121.91, 73.15, 124.97,
152.40, 128.02, 121.92, 91.44, 137.16,
106.68, and 137.16 (14 years of record).
 Rearranging this in descending order of
magnitude, we have: 152.40(2), 137.16(2),
128,02, 124.07, 121.92(2), 106.68(2),
103.63, 91.44, 85.34, and 73.15.
 Definition of Rank

 Rank is the number of any

event(intensity) when arranged in
the decreasing order of magnitude.
 It is equal to 1 for the first event
and n for the last one.
 Rank can also be defined as the
number of events greater than or
equal to the required value.
For the Iowa intensity values
above the ranks are:

Intensity : 152.40 137.16

128.02
 Rank 2 4 5
 Intensity 124.97 121.92 106.68
 Rank 6 8 10
 Intensity103.63 91.44 85.34
73.15
 Rank 11 12 13 14
Steps in Frequency Analysis
Contd.

 d) Apart from the 5 min duration rainfall, values for

other durations can be ranked. Plot Intensity Vs
Rank for all rainfall durations as shown in Figure
4.7.
 (e) To relate these to return period, an empirical
plotting equation (Gumbel's plotting equation) is
used.
 T = (n + 1)/ m
 n is the number. of years of record (in this case,
14);
 m is the rank or order number and T is the return
period.
Steps in Frequency Analysis
Contd.

 For T = 2 years, for example, given that n =

14, m = (n + 1)/T = (14 + 1)/2 = 7.5
 Plot m = 7.5 in Figure 4.7 and read values
of intensities for each duration ie. for same T.
Similarly plot m = 3 and m = 1.5 for return
periods of 5 years and 10 years and read up
values of rainfall intensity for various
durations. These values are shown in Table
4.5.
Steps Contd.

 Plot graphs of Intensity Vs

Duration for different return
periods as shown in Figure
4.8
Extrapolation of Results

In order to extrapolate rainfall

intensity values of given
durations for longer return
periods (longer than the period
of record), plot log intensity
Versus log return period.
 Example

 Extrapolate the intensity values of 30 min

duration with 50 year return period.
 Solution.
Table 2.6: 30 minute duration rainfall
Intensities
Return Period (years) 30 minute duration
intensity (mm/hr)
2 51
5 69
10 88
Solution Concluded

 Plot Log Rainfall Intensity Vs

Return period as shown in
Figure 4.9.
 Extend the line and extrapolate
the value of intensity with 50
year return period as 160
mm/hr.