o Sleet consists of transparent, globular, solid grains of ice formed by the
freezing of raindrops or refreezing of largely melted ice crystals falling
CHAPTER 3: PRECIPITATION
 Condensation and freezing nuclei – It is required for the formation of fog or cloud
droplets or ice crystals on which the droplets or crystals form.
 Heavy rainfall can occur from warm clouds.
 Collision & coalescence of cloud and precipitation elements (accretion) are
considered the most important factors leading to significant precipitation.
 Raindrops may grow as large as 6 mm in diameter. Maximum falling speeds /
Terminal velocities, tend to level off as the drops approach maximum size because
of increasing air resistance due to flattening. For large diameters, the deformation
may be sufficient to break up the drops before they can attain terminal velocities.
 Single ice crystals may reach the ground, but usually a number of them collide and
coalesce to form a cluster and fall as snowflakes.
 Coalescence is most effective when temperatures are near freezing.
3-2 Forms of Precipitation
 Any product of condensation of atmospheric water vapor formed in the free air or
at earth’s surface is a hydrometeor.
 Hydrometeors:
o Drizzle (mist) – consists of tiny liquid water droplets, usually with
diameters between 0.1 & 0.5 mm, which such slow settling rates they
occasionally appear to float. It usually falls from low stratus and rarely
exceeds 1 mm/hr.
o Rain – consists of liquid water drops mostly larger than 0.5 mm in
diameter.
o Rainfall – usually refers to amounts of liquid precipitation. In the US rain
is reported in three intensities: Light (for rates of fall up to 2.5 mm/hr.
inclusive), Moderate (from 2.8 – 7.6 mm/hr.) & Heavy (over 7.6 mm/hr.)
o Glaze – is the ice coating, generally clear and smooth, formed on
exposed surfaces by the freezing of supercooled water deposited by rain
or drizzle. S.g (specific gravity) may be as high as 0.8 – 0.9.
o Rime – white, opaque deposit of ice granules more or less separated by
trapped air and formed by rapid freezing of supercooled water drops
impinging on exposed objects. S.g may be as low as 0.2 – 0.3.
o Snow – composed of ice crystals, branched hexagonal form, and often
agglomerated into snowflakes, which may reach 100 mm in diameter.
The density of freshly fallen snow varies greatly; 125 - 500 mm of snow
(required to equal 25 mm of liquid water). The average density (S.G) is
often assumed to 0.1
o Hail – precipitation in the form of balls of ice, produced in convective
clouds, mostly cumulonimbus. Hailstones may be spheroidal, conical, or
irregular in shape, & range (5 to over 125 mm. in diameter.
through a layer of subfreezing air near the earth’s surface.
3-3 Types of Precipitation
 Cyclonic Precipitation results from the lifting of air converging into a low-pressure
area, or cyclone. (either frontal/nonfrontal)
o Frontal precipitation – results from the lofting of warm air on one side of
a frontal surface over colder.
o Warm-front precipitation - formed in the warm air advancing upward
over a colder air mass. (rate of ascent is relatively slow; average slope is
usually between 1/100 & 1/300.
o Cold-front precipitation – is of showery nature and is formed in the
warm air forced upward by an advancing mass of cold air. The leading
edge of which is the surface cold front.
 Convective Precipitation – caused by the rising of warmer, lighter air in colder,
denser surroundings. The difference in temperature may result from unequal
heating at the surface, unequal cooling at the top of the air layer, or mechanical
lifting when the air is forced to pass over a denser, colder air mass or over a
mountain barrier. (spotty, and its intensity may range from light showers to
cloudbursts.)
 Orographic Precipitation – results from mechanical lifting over mountain barriers.
3-4 Artificially Induced Precipitation
 Weather Modification (weather control) – general term for efforts to alter
artificially the natural meteorological phenomena of the atmosphere. (Attempts to
increase or decrease precipitation, suppress hail & lightning, mitigate hurricanes,
dissipate fog, prevent frost, alter radiation balance, etc.)
o Cloud modification/ cloud seedling – one type of weather modification,
& usually has its goal either dissipation of the cloud or stimulation of
precipitation. (Urban air pollution is an effective modifier of weather)
 Two general approaches to cloud seedling for augmentation of precipitation:
o Static approach – consists of introducing about one artificial nucleus per
liter of cloud air, to produce ice crystals which through diffusion and
accretion, eventually grow into precipitation particles.
o Dynamic approach – involves massive seeding, say 100 – 1000 nuclei
per liter of cloud air, of cumulus clouds to stimulate, through release of
heat of fusion, the buoyancy forces and circulations that sustain them.
3-5 Precipitation Gages
  Three Types of recording gages:
o Tipping-bucket gage – the water caught in the collector is funneled into
a two-compartment bucket; 0.25 mm, 0.1 mm, or some other designed
quantity of rain will fill one compartment and overbalance the bucket so
that it tips, emptying into a reservoir and moving the second compartment
into place beneath the funnel. As the bucket is tipped, it actuates an
electric circuit (This type of gage is not suitable for measuring snow
without heating the collector.)
o Weighing-type gage –weighs the rain or snow which falls into a bucket
set on the platform of a spring or lever balance.
o Float recording gages – the rise of the float with increasing catch of
rainfall is recorded.
o Punched-tape recorder – punches the amount of precipitation
accumulated in the collector on a tape in digital code, which later can be
run through a translator for adapting to computer evaluation of the record.
3-7 Radar Measurement of Precipitation
 Radar transmits a pulse of electromagnetic energy as a beam in a direction
determined by a movable antenna.
 Energy returned to the radar is called the target signal. The amount is termed
returned power, and its display on the radarscope is called an echo.
 The brightness of an echo or echo intensity – is an indication of the magnitude of
returned power, which turn is a measure of the radar reflectivity of the
hydrometeors.
 Attenuation – loss of radar energy due to passage through precipitation. Part of
loss results from scattering and part from absorption.
C
2∑
 Formula: Average returned power Pr = d6
r 4-3 Crest-Stage Gages
C = dependent on wavelength, beam shape and width, pulse length,
transmitted power, antenna gain, & refractive index of the target.
d = diameter of the individual particles.
3-9 Estimating Missing Precipitation Data
1 Nx Nx Nx
P x= ( PA + PB+ P)
3 NA NB Nc c
 Double-mass Analysis – tests the consistency of the record at a station by
comparing its accumulated annual or seasonal precipitation with the concurrent
accumulated values of mean precipitation for a group of surrounding stations
3-11 Average Precipitation over Area
 Thiessen method – attempts to allow for non-uniform distribution of gages by
providing a weighting factor for each gage.
 Grid-point method – averages the estimated precipitation at all points of a
superimposed grid.
 Isohyetal method - when used by an experienced analyst, is the most accurate
method pf averaging precipitation over an area.
PTER 4: STREAMFLOW
WATER STAGE _4-1 Manual Gages
 River stage is the elevation above some arbitrary zero datum of the water surface
at the station.
 The simplest way to measure a river stage is by means of a staff gage, a scale
set so that a portion of it is immersed on water at all times.
 If no suitable structure exists in a location accessible at all stages, a sectional
staff gage may be used.
 The wire-weight gage has a drum with a circumference such that each revolution
unwinds 30 cm of wire.
4-2 Recording Gages
 In a continuous-chart recorder, motion of the float moves a pen across a long strip
chart.
4-4 Miscellaneous Stage Gages
4-5 Selection of Station Site
 When controlling features are situated in a short length of channel, a section
control exists.
 If the stage-discharge relation is governed by the slope, size, and roughness of
the channel over a considerable distance, the station is under channel control.

DISCHARGE+
N = normal annual precipitation
4-6 Current Meters
P x =a+b A P A +b B P B +b C Pc
 The most common current meter in the United States, the Price meter consists of
six conical cups rotating about a vertical axis.
3-10 Double-Mass Analysis  Propeller-type current meters employ a propeller turning about a horizontal axis.
𝒗 = 𝒂 + 𝒃𝑵 (4-1)  Operational stations are required for streamflow forecasting, project operation,
water allocation, etc.
Where: 𝑏 is the constant of proportionality  Special stations are installed to secure data for a project investigation, special
𝑎 is the starting velocity required to overcome mechanical friction studies, or research.
 Basic data stations are operated to obtain data for future use.
4-7 Current-Meter Measurements  Benchmark stations should be maintained permanently on all streams that are
substantially unaffected by people.
4-8 Stage-Discharge Relations
INTERPRETATION OF STREAMFLOW DATA
 Periodic meter measurements of flow and simultaneous stage observations
provide data for a calibration curve called a rating curve or stage-discharge 4-13 Water Years
relation. q /q0 = (s/s0)m = (F/F0)K 4-14 Hydrographs
 A slope-stage-discharge relation requires a base gage and an auxiliary gage.
 The rating just described is known as a constant-fall rating, since the adopted  A hydrograph is a graph of stage or discharge versus time.
mean fall 𝐹0 is constant.
 If the fall varies a wide range and is correlated with stage, a normal-fall rating may 4-15 Mean Daily Flows
be used.
4-16 Adjustment of Streamflow Data
 Under this circumstance it is possible to develop a change-in-stage rating and thus
need to eliminate the need for an auxiliary gage. 4-17 Mean Annual Runoff

4-9 Extension of Rating Curves 4-18 Streamflow Variations

𝒒 = 𝒌(𝒈 − 𝒂) b

a = g1g3 – g22 / = g1+ g3 – 2g2 CHAPTER 5: EVAPORATION AND TRANSPIRATION

𝒒 = 𝑨𝑪√𝑹𝒔 EVAPORATION

𝒒 = 𝒌𝒂√𝑫  The hydrologic definition of evaporation is restricted to the net rate of vapor
transport to the atmosphere.
4-10 Effects of Ice on Streamflow
5-1 Factors Controlling the Evaporation Process
 In turbulent streams, the first ice to form is frazil ice, small crystals suspended in
the turbulent flow. Meteorological Factors
 Frazil ice collecting on rocks on the streambed is called anchor ice and may
cause a small increase in stage.  If natural evaporation is viewed as an energy-exchange process, it can be
demonstrated that radiation is by far the most important single factor and that the
4-11 Other Methods of Obtaining Streamflow Data term solar evaporation is basically applicable.

q = 1/n AR2/3S1/2 q = (c1/c2 - 1) qt Nature of evaporating surface

 In the moving-boat method, a boat traverses the stream at a constant speed on  Thus, the rate of evaporation from soil surfaces is limited by the availability of
a course normal to the flow. water, or evaporation opportunity.
 In the ultrasonic method, sonic pulses are emitted from transducers on opposite
banks and located on a line about 45° from the direction of flow. Effects of water quality

4-12 Planning a Streamflow Network 5-2 Water-Budget Determinations of Reservoir Evaporation

𝑬 = (𝑺𝟏 − 𝑺𝟐) + 𝑰 + 𝑷 − 𝑶 – 𝑶g
5-3 Energy-Budget Determinations of Reservoir Evaporation
Where 𝝈 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant = 𝟓. 𝟔𝟕 × 𝟏𝟎-8 𝑾𝒎-2 𝑲-4
5-4 Aerodynamic Determination of Reservoir Evaporation
5-5 Combination Methods of Estimating Reservoir Evaporation
5-6 Estimation of Reservoir Evaporation from Pan Evaporation and Related
Meteorological Data
Pan observations
Pan evaporation and meteorological factors
Pan coefficients
Effects of advected energy on pan evaporation
𝑬 = 𝟎. 𝟕[𝑬𝒑 ± 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟔𝟒𝒑𝜶𝒑(𝟎. 𝟑𝟕 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟐𝟓𝟓𝒗𝒑)|𝑻𝟎 − 𝑻𝒂|0.88]
5-7 Summary and Appraisal of Techniques for Estimating Reservoir Evaporation
5-8 Increased Water Supplies through Reduced Evaporation
TRANSPIRATION
 Only minute portions of water absorbed by the root systems of plants remain in the
plant tissues; virtually all is discharged to the atmosphere as vapor through
transpiration.
5-9 Factors Affecting Transpiration
 Wilting point - moisture content at which permanent wilting of plants occurs
 Xerophytes – desert species which have fewer stomata per unit area and less
surface area exposed to radiation, transpire relatively little water.
 Phreatophytes – have root systems reaching to the water table and transpire at
rates largely independent of moisture content in the zone of aeration.
 Mesophytes – plants of the temperate zones, have some ability to reduce
transpiration during periods of drought.
 Hydrophytes – aquatic plants, cannot pump water in the atmosphere at rates in
excess of those controlled by available radiant and sensible energy.
5-10 Measurement of Transpiration
 Phytometer – a large vessel filled with soil in which one or more plants are rooted.
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
 Total evaporation (or evapotranspiration) – the evaporation from all water, soil,
snow, ice, vegetation, and other surfaces plus transpiration.
 Consumptive use – is the total evaporation from an area plus the water used
directly in building plant tissue.
 Potential evapotranspiration – “the water loss which will occur if at no time there
is deficiency of water in the soil for the use of vegetation”
5-11 Water-Budget Determination of Main Basin Evapotranspiration
5-12 Field-Plot Determination of Evapotranspiration
5-13 Lysimeter Determination of Evapotranspiration
 Many observations of evapotranspiration are made in soil containers, variously
known as tanks, evapotranpirometers, and lysimeters.
5-14 Estimating Potential Evapotranspiration from Meteorological Data
5-15 Estimating Actual Evapotranspiration from Potential
 In this approach, it is visualized that upper-zone moisture is always depleted at
the potential rate and that any deficiency in this zone must be satisfied before
rainfall begins to recharge the lower-zone.
5-16 Irrigation Water Requirements
5-17 Controlling Evapotranspiration
5-18 Equations for Evaporation Computations
CHAPTER 6: SUBSURFACE WATER
6-1 Occurrence of Subsurface Water
 The two major subsurface zones are divided by an irregular surface called the
water table.
 The water table is the locus of points (in unconfined material) where hydrostatic
pressure equals atmospheric pressure.
 Above water table, in the vadose zone, soil pores may contain either air or water;
hence it is sometimes called zone of aeration.
 In the phreatic zone, below the water table, interstices are filled with water;
sometimes this is called the zone of saturation.
 Local saturated zones sometimes exist as perched groundwater above an
impervious layer of limited extent.
 Sometimes groundwater is overlain by an impervious stratum to form confined, or
artesian, water.
 If a well penetrates the confining layer, water will rise to the piezometric level, the
artesian equivalent of the water table.
 If the piezometric level is above ground level, the well discharges as a flowing
well.
MOISTURE IN THE VADOSE ZONE
 In the region penetrated by roots of vegetation, ranging to 10 m below the soil
surface, is the soil water, which fluctuates in amount as vegetation removes
moisture between rains.
 Above water table, moisture is raised by capillary into the capillary fringe, which
may have a vertical extent of several centimeters to about a meter depending on
the pore sizes of the material.
 But when the water table is deep, an intermediate region exists where moisture
levels remain constant at the field capacity of the soil and rock of the region.
6-2 Soil-Water Relationships
 Soil moisture may be present as:
o Gravity water in transit in the larger pore spaces
o Capillary water in the smaller pores
o Hygroscopic moisture adhering in a thin film to soil grains
o Water vapor
 With a free-water surface taken as reference, capillary potential is defined as the
work required to move a unit mass of water from the reference plane to any point
in the soil column.
Capillary Potential: 𝝍 = 𝒈𝒚 (6-1)
6-3 Equilibrium Points
 Visualizing several states of water in soil, early soil scientists tried to define limits
of these states by equilibrium points.
 Field capacity is defined as the moisture content of soil after gravity drainage is
complete.
 Wilting point represents soil-moisture level when plants cannot extract water from
soil.
 The difference between the moisture content at field capacity and at wilting point is
called available moisture.
6-4 Measurement of Soil Moisture
  consists of a porous ceramic cup which is inserted in the soil, filled with water, and
connected to a manometer.

6-5 Movement of Soil Moisture

 Infiltration is the movement of water through the soil surface into the soil. 6-11 Equilibrium Hydraulics of Wells
 Percolation is the movement of water through the soil.

MOISTURE IN THE PHREATIC ZONE

6-6 Aquifers

 A geologic formation which contains water and transmits it from one point to
another in quantities sufficient to permit economic development is called an
aquifer.
 An aquiclude is a formation which contains water but cannot transmit it rapidly
enough to furnish a significant supply to a well or spring.  The resulting water-table form is called a cone of depression.
 An aquifuge has no interconnected openings and cannot hold or transmit water.
6-12 Nonequilibrium Hydraulics of Wells
 The ratio of the pore volume to the total volume of the formation is called porosity.
 The original porosity of a material is that which existed at the time the material 6-13 Boundary Effects
was formed.
 When several wells are close together, their cones of depression may overlap, or
interfere.

6-14 Aquifer Analysis

POTENTIAL OF A GROUNDWATER RESERVOIR

 Secondary porosity results from fractures and solution channels.
 Specific yield of an aquifer is the ratio of the water which will drain freely from the  Safe yield, is defined by Meinzer, as “the rate at which water can be withdrawn for
material of the total volume of the formation and is always less than porosity. human use without depleting the supply to such an extent that withdrawal at this
rate is no longer feasible”
6-9 Sources of Groundwater
6-15 Safe Yield
 Almost all groundwater is meteoric water derived from precipitation.
 Connate water was present in the rock at its formation and is frequently highly 𝑮 = 𝑷 – 𝑸s – 𝑬t + 𝑸g − ∆𝑺g − ∆𝑺s
saline.
 Juvenile water, formed chemically within the earth and brought to the surface in 6-16 Seawater Intrusion
intrusive rocks, occurs in small quantities.
6-17 Artificial Recharge
 Streams contributing to groundwater are called influent streams. Such streams
are frequently ephemeral. 6-18 Artesian Aquifers
6-10 Discharge of Groundwater 6-19 Time Effects in Groundwaste
 Streams intersecting the water table and receiving groundwater flow are called
effluent streams.
 Plants deriving their water from groundwater, called phreatophytes, often have
root systems extending to depths of 12 m or more