GEOG 3511: INTRODUCTION TO HYDROLOGY

The picture above shows the Rees River, near Queenstown, New Zealand. Off in the distance, and mostly obscured by clouds, are the Southern Alps. This is an area of spectacular terrain and complex hydrology- some portions of the Southern Alps receive more than 10 meters of precipitation annually (for comparison, Boulder's mean annual precipitation is about 30 cm). Movement of warm, moist air masses against these mountains can trigger intense rainfall and rapid snowmelt, resulting in large floods.

The problems we face here in Colorado are related more to a lack of precipitation. The average statewide precipitation in Colorado is about 45 cm, but that average is skewed because most of the precipitation falls as snow in the mountains. Snow is thus very important in Colorado, both as a basis for recreation and as a source of water. However, our ability to measure snow depth and snow cover in Colorado's mountains is still quite limited, and we are not yet to the point where we can forecast the timing or volume of snowmelt runoff very accurately. Drought conditions in Colorado in the last several years have thus pushed our water supply systems to the limit, and there is continuing debate as to how we will manage these systems in the future.

This course is about learning both the concepts and physical principles of water flow as well as the techniques that can be used to solve hydrologic problems. In practice, hydrologists have to quantify rates at which water is exchanged between the atmosphere, the ground, and the ocean, and this often involves manipulating data and solving sets of equations. It's fairly easy to lose sight of the conceptual part of the problem once you focus on techniques. Thus, one of the goals of this course is to give you a balanced view of hydrology- one that includes a description of the physical processes PLUS a coherent presentation of the theories and techniques that are used in practice. The class is structured around the hydrologic cycle, which you can picture as a set of linked processes that cycle water between the ocean, atmosphere, and land surface. We will examine the individual components of the hydrologic cycle, as well as interactions between these components.

Textbook:

Dingman, S.L., 2002, Physical Hydrology. 2nd edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 646 p.

Grading:

Your course grade will be determined as follows:

Final Exam = 30 % (scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 17)

Lab Assignments = 30 %

Exams will cover material from lectures and lab assignments. Test questions will be short answer with some calculations. No make-up exams will be given. If you miss a midterm exam and have a legitimate excuse, I will give you a score equal to your grade on the other midterm. If you cannot explain your absence, you will get a score of zero.

Lab:

Lab sessions will be held Tuesday and Thursday. Please be on time. We will take one or two field trips depending on weather conditions.

Attendance in lab is mandatory, and similar rules apply: If you miss a lab without discussing it with us in advance, then you will receive a score of zero for that lab. If a problem arises and you cannot attend a particular lab, then you need to inform us in advance.

LECTURE and LAB SCHEDULE: Fall 2003

Date	Topics	Reading
25-29 Aug	Water Balance	No Lab
3-5 Sept	Global climate & water resources	Chapt. 3
8-12 Sept	Precipitation I: sources and measurement	Chapt. 4
15-19 Sept	Precipitation II: spatial & temporal variability	Chapt. 4
22-26 Sept	Effects of climate change on water resources	assigned reading??
1 Oct	MIDTERM EXAM 1	no lab (FALL BREAK, Oct.2-3)
6-10 Oct	Snow I: formation and metamorphism	Chapt. 5
13-17 Oct	Snow II: snowmelt and energy balance	Chapt. 5
20-24 Oct	Water in soils: infiltration and redistribution	Chapt. 6
27-31 Oct	Evapotranspiration I: physical processes	Chapt. 7
3-7 Nov	Evapotranspiration II: approaches for estimating	Chapt. 7
12 Nov	MIDTERM EXAM 2	have a nice day
17-21 Nov	Hillslope hydrology and runoff	Chapt. 9
24-26 Nov	"	Thanksgiving
1-5 Dec	Streams, networks, open channel flow	Chapt. 9
8-10 Dec	Floods and flood-frequency analysis	No Lab

Examples of Exam Questions:

Exam # 1

1. Define the following terms (4 pts. ea.):

a) relative humidity
b) latent heat
c) autocorrelation
d) runoff ratio

2. Fill-in the blanks in the following sentences (2 pts. each):

a) the outgoing radiation emitted by the earth is called ________________________________.
b) the majority of the worldís fresh water is held in _________________________________.
c) streamflow would be considered a _______________________________ random variable.

3. Climate models predict that increasing CO2 concentrations will result in increasing average temperatures.

a) How might this affect precipitation (4 pts.)?
b) Whether changes in precipitation result in an increase or decrease in runoff depends very much on how changes in CO2 and temperature affect plants. Explain (8 pts.):
c) The Wigley-Jones model discussed in class and in your textbook suggests that runoff in semi-arid areas may increase significantly with potentially no change in precipitation. Explain (6 pts.):

Online Help with EXCEL:

Downloading Data From the Web & Using EXCEL

GEOG 3511, Fall 2003

Lecture: MWF 10:00-10:50 GUGG 205 Lab: T R (various times) GUGG 6

Overview:

Textbook:

Grading:

Lab:

LECTURE and LAB SCHEDULE: Fall 2003

Date

Topics

Reading

Examples of Exam Questions:

Online Help with EXCEL:

Lecture: MWF 10:00-10:50 GUGG 205
Lab: T R (various times) GUGG 6