Etymology
condensed water vapor, excess amounts
Hydro
- from Greek word hudor meaning “water”
Logy
- from Latin word logia meaning “science
or study of”
Hydrology
- is the science that deals with occurrence,
circulation and distribution of water of the
earth and its atmosphere.
Scientific Hydrology
- which is concerned chiefly with academic
aspects
Engineering or Applied Hydrology
- which is concerned with engineering
applications
Engineering Hydrology deals with:
● Estimation of Water Resources
● The study of hydrologic processes
and their interactions
● The study of problems and
strategies to combat them
Water evaporates from oceans, streams,
soil moisture, and snow due to the heat
provided by solar radiation.
Water vapor results from the evaporation
of water. It reaches high up into the
atmosphere and condensation occurs.
As water vapor reaches higher, it becomes
cooler. Cold air cannot hold as much water
vapor as warm air can, so as t he air
cools, it becomes saturated and the water
vapor in it condenses. As a result, clouds
form.
While much of the clouds remain above
the oceans, a part of them are
transported to the land areas by wind.
When the air can no longer hold all the
precipitate or change from gas to liquid
(or solid).
Rain drops may evaporate back into the
atmosphere even when falling.
Another part may be intercepted by
vegetation, structures, and other such
surface modifications (land cover).
Water that reaches the ground enters the
earth’s surface through infiltration which
enhances the moisture content of the soil.
Water that infiltrates the ground fills the
spaces between sediments and cracks in
the rock and flows slowly as
groundwater.
The precipitation reaching the ground
surface after meeting the needs of
infiltration and evaporation moves down a
natural slope over the surface and through
a network of gullies; streams, and rivers to
reach the ocean.
The groundwater may come to the surface
through springs and other outlets after
spending a considerably longer time than
the surface flow.
The portion of the precipitation by which a
variety of paths above and below the
surface of the earth reaches the stream
channel is called runoff. Once it enters a
stream channel, runoff becomes stream
flow.
When groundwater fills in all the empty
spaces underground, it reaches an
impenetrable layer of rock where it
percolates for hundreds (or thousands) of
years.
Vegetation sends a portion of the water
from under the ground surface back to the
atmosphere through the process of
transpiration.