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
an area
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
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Human Activities
Source: http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/Publications/Short_Series/LakeReservoirs-2/9.asp
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Water Use and Consumption
Global Household
Source: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP, UN-Water)
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Climate and Water Availability
Solar Radiation
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Atmospheric Circulation
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http://schoolworkhelper.net/
Atmospheric Circulation
cloud animation
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Global River Network
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]
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Precipitation unit
• [mm]
• 1 liter / m2
• 10-3 m3 /m2 = mm
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How to go from precipitation to rivers?
THE WATER BALANCE
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
• Q = runoff ΔM
• ΔM = change in M Q
storage
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
Water Balance within an area
• Commonly Water Balance is made within a
catchment area, that is:
• The 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
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Catchment size
• 106 km2
– Amazon 7 x 106 km2
• 102 km2
– Skarsvatn 86 km2
– Bulken 1094 km2
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Thousands of sub
catchments
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Mean Values of Q, E and P [mm/year]
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
Examples of water balance calculation
• For a certain area, the annual precipitation is 1300
mm/year and the annual evapotranspiration is 800
mm/year. What is the runoff if there is no storage
during the year?
• For the same area, the precipitation was 700 and the
evapotranspiration, 500 mm during 6 months. What
was the resulting 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
Runoff Coefficient
• Ex. 2.1 Two rainfall events falls over a catchment,
one after the other. 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
P
Q1 = 11 mm
Rain 2; P2 = 14 mm
Q2 = ?
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
Solution
• Assume the two rainfalls are evenly distributed over the
entire catchment.
• Precipitation 24 mm becomes 11 mm runoff from the first
rainfall.
• 13 mm ”disappeared” on the way to the outflow point, i.e.,
this water either infiltrated and/or evaporated.
• runoff coefficient k is defined as runoff divided by
precipitation for a specific precipitation event (k = Q/P), for
the first rainfall k becomes; 11/24 = 0.46.
• This means that from a rain, just 46% were transformed
into runoff.
• Assume runoff coefficient constant,
• k = Q1/P1= Q2/P2. That is, Q2 = k ∙ P2 = 0.46 ∙ 14 = 6.4 mm .
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
Use of Water Balance Equation
• Ex. 2.2 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
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Solution
• Do the water balance for the lake
• Σ inflows to the lake - Σ outflows from the lake = change in volume of the
lake.
• Assume that there are no other inflows and/or outflows from the lake,
e.g., no losses or contributions to the groundwater system surrounding
the lake.
P + Qin - Qut - E = ΔM that gives E = P + Qin - Qut - ΔM
E = 33 mm + Qin - Qut - ΔM
E = 33 mm + (0.425 - 0.368) m3/s – 19700 m3
E = 33 mm + 0.057 m3/s · (3600 · 24 · 30) s – 19700 m3 =
E = 33 mm + 128044 m3 =
E = 33 mm + 128044 m3 / (121 · 104 m2) =
E = 33 mm + 0.106 m = 139 mm
evaporation is about 139 mm/month.
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Water Storage
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Water Storage
• Ex. 2.3 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, a high phosphorous (P) content of
0.25 mg/l P have been found. What is the annual mass transport of
phosphorous in the water out from the catchment?
A = 20 km2
P = 732 mm/year
P E E = 550 mm/year
C = 0.25 mg/l P
Q* C=?
P - E - Q = ΔM
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
Solution
• Assume the storage to be zero as calculations are made for
average values (10 years).
• Set up a water balance
P = E + Q => Q = 732 – 550 => Q = 182 mm/year.
• Assume that the concentration measurement of
phosphorous is representative for the entire 10-year
period. C = 0.25 mg/l P.
• But we need Q in l. Q is transformed from mm/year to m3/s
by multiplying with the total catchment area.
Q = 182 mm/year·20 km2 = 182·10-3 m/year·20·106 m2
= 3640·103 m3/year => Q = 3.64·106 m3/year.
Q = 3.64 · 106 m3/ (365·24·60·60) s = 3.64·106 m3/
(31.54 · 106 s) = 0.115 m3/s => Q = 115 l/s
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Solution (cont.)
• This is the average runoff every second for the 10-year
period. Now we can calculate the transport of
phosphorous that comes out from the catchment
during one year:
• Q · C = 115 l/s · 0.25 mg/l = 28.75 mg/s
• The transport per year becomes
• 28.75 mg/s · 60 · 60 · 24 · 365 · s/year = 907 kg/year.
• about 1000 kg/year.
VVR111 – Hydrology and Aquatic Ecology
