Shariq Pervez

Civil Engineering
UET Peshawar

MEASUREMENTS OF
HYDROLOGICAL VARIABLES
Hydrological Variables

 Precipitation
 Evaporation
 Transpiration
 Wind Velocity
 Humidity
 Radiation
 Evapotranspiration
Precipitation

 Precipitation is any form of

water that falls to the
Earth's surface. Different
forms of precipitation
include rain, snow, sleet,
hail and drizzle.
How Precipitation Is
Measured
 Standard rain guage
 Weighing precipitation gauge
 Tipping bucket rain gauge
 Optical rain gauge
 Weather station
 Radar
Standard Rain Guage

 Often have a funnel opening into a cylinder

guage
 Come in a variety of shapes and sizes
 Calculate the rainfall (in mm) by dividing the
volume of water collected by the area of the
opening of the cup.
Standard Rain guage
Placement of Rain Gauges

 Gauges are affected by wind pattern, trees

and the gauge itself, therefore it is important
to have the gauge located and positioned
properly.
 1m above ground level is standard.
 2 to 4 times the distance away from an
isolated object (such as a tree or building).
Rainfall Depth
 The Rain Gauge

So, 10 mm of rain
falling into the
The cross-sectional
outer tube looks
of measuring tube is
like it fills the
1/10 the cross-
measuring tube 10
sectional area of the
cm high.
outer tube.
Measurement is 10 mm!
Monthly Climatic Report
Evaporation

 Evaporation is the process by which water is

converted from its liquid form to its vapor
form and thus transferred from land and
water masses to the atmosphere.
OR
 Process by which water is changed from the
liquid or solid state into the gaseous state
through the transfer of heat energy (ASCE,
1949).
Methods For Estimating
Evaporation
 Water budget methods
 Energy budget methods
 Mass transfer techniques (e.g., Meyer,
Thornthwaile-Holzman)
 Combination of energy budget and mass
transfer methods (e.g.,Penman)
 Energy Budget Method
Total solar
radiation - Rt

Net energy Reflected solar

advected (net Net long-wave radiation
radiation - Rr
energy content of Sensible heat loss exchange between the
incoming and from the water atmospere and the water
Energy used for
outcoming water - evaporation
body to the body- R1
Ee atmosphere - Hn
(latent heat)- Ee

Energy stored - Es
Energy Budget Method

g cal
Es Ea Rt Rr Ee Hn R1
cm2 - day
Energy Budget Method

Characteristics:

 Most accurate method (evaporation is a

function of the energy state of the water
system).
 Difficult to evaluate all terms.
 Energy balance equation has to be simplified.
 Empirical formulas are used.
 Water Budget Method

Precipitation - P

Evaporation- E Inflow- Q

Surface runoff - Qr

Subsurface
runoff - Qs

Subsurface seepage losses- Qd

Outflow- Q0
S
P Q Qr Qs Q0 Qd E E
t
Water Budget Method

Characteristics:

 Simple
 Difficult to estimate Qd and Qs
 Unreliable, accuracy will increase as Δt
increases
Transpiration

 Transpiration is the evaporation occurring

through plant leaves (stomatal openings).

 Transpiration is affected by plant physiology

and environmental factors, such as:
 Type of vegetation
 Stage and growth of plants
 Soil conditions (type and moisture)
 Climate and weather
How Transpiration is
Measured

Capillary tube

Movement of meniscus is
measured over time
Wind Velocity

 Wind velocity can be measured by a device

called anemometer.
 Two types of anemometers
 Velocity anemometers
 Pressure anemometers
Anemometer
Anemometer
Anemometer

 The air flow past the cups in any horizontal

direction turning the cups.
 The no. of turns is proportional to the
average wind speed.
 The needle show the direction of the wind.
Humidity

 Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the

air.
 Types of humidity are:
 Absolute humidity
 Relative humidity
 Specific humidity
 Humidity during rain
 Sling psychrometer is used to measure
humidity.
Sling Psychrometer
Hygrometer

 Hygrometer is used for

measuring relative
humidity.
 Psychrometer is the
simplest form of
hygrometer.
Radiation

 Solar radiation
entering Earth’s
atmosphere
consists of direct,
diffuse, and albedo
radiation.
Radiation
How Radiation is Measured

Radiation can be measured by:

 Pyrheliometer
 Pyranometer
Pyrheliometer
Pyranometer
Evapotranspiration

 Combined “loss” of water

vapor from within the leaves
of plants (“transpiration”)
and evaporation of liquid
water from water surfaces,
bare soil and vegetative
surfaces.
Evapotranspiration
Measurement
 Evapotranspiration can be measured by:
 Lysimeter
 Rain
Transpiration

Evapo-transpiration

Irrigation
Evaporation
Runoff

Root Zone
Water Storage

Below Root Drainage

Zone
Lysimeter
Lysimeter
Lysimeter
Evapotranspiration Report
Weather Station

 A weather station is a facility with

instruments which can measure
 Temperature
 Humidity
 Wind velocity
 Barometric pressure
 Precipitation
Weather Station
References

 http://www.wikipedia.org/
 Research papers
Thanks