LECTURE 1

INTRODUCTION
At the end of the week, students should be able to:
describe and explain the hydrologic cycle
and its component.
state and apply the water budget equation.
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1.0 DEFINITION OF
HYDROLOGY
Hydrology is the earth science which deals with
water in all its natural forms as it occurs on the
earth.
It includes occurrence, distribution, movement
and properties of water of the earth.
It requires the knowledge of many natural
sciences, including hydraulics, physics,
meteorology, chemistry, mathematics and
geology.
Hydrology can be classified into :
Scientific Hydrology
Engineering Hydrology
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1.1 Definition Of
Engineering Hydrology
Engineering hydrology is a civil engineering
discipline, utilizes hydrologic data such as
precipitation, streamflow and evaporation in the
planning, design and operation of engineering
projects for the control and use of water.
Analysis techniques in this field focus on
determining the magnitude and frequency of
hydrologic events such as storms, flood flows,
droughts and low flows.
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1.2 Availability OF World Water Resourses

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1.3 Hydrologic Cycle

Continuous, unsteady circulation of water from the
atmosphere to and under the land surface and
back to the atmosphere by various processes.
Temporal variations may occur in the atmosphere,
on land surface, in surface waters and in the
groundwater of an area.
No beginning or end.
Water may appear in all three of its states : solid,
liquid, and gas
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Hydrological Cycle
Ocean
Evaporation
Evaporation (ET)
runoff
Precipitation
Aquifer
Infiltration
Evaporation
Precipitation
Evaporation/ET
Surface Water
Groundwater
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Precipitation

General term used to describe water which
comes to earth in the form of rain, hail, snow and
dew.
Occur as rain as a driving force providing water
in the environment
Annual amounts of precipitation are
unpredictable and variable, approximately in the
range of 1500-4000 mm in various locations in
Malaysia.
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Infiltration

Passage of water through air-soil interface

Affected by factors such as time, soil porosity,
permeability, antecedent soil moisture conditions
and presence of vegetation.

Urbanisation will decreases infiltration with a
resulting increase in runoff volume and
discharge.
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Evaporation and Transpiration

Evaporation is the process whereby water is
transformed from the liquid or solid state into the
gaseous phase by the transfer of heat energy.
Measured as a rate of mm/day or mm/year.
Transpiration is the mechanism whereby water
moves up through vegetation into atmosphere
and subsequently evaporated. Measured as a
rate of mm/day or mm/year.
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Evapotranspiration is used to describe the
quantity of water used by plants in transpiration
together with the water evaporated from the
adjacent soil or intercepted precipitation.
Its rate affected by temperature, wind, vapour
pressure, plant characteristics and availability of
soil moisture.
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Surface Runoff

Refer as overland flow
Process whereby water moves from the ground
surface to a water way or water body.
Affected by precipitation, infiltration,
imperviousness and land slope.
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Interflow

Refer as subsurface stormflow
Process whereby water moves laterally
beneath the land surface but above
groundwater table.
Considered part of the surface runoff.
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Groundwater flow

Refer as baseflow whereby water move
laterally beneath the water table toward
and into a waterway or water body.
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1.4 Catchment Characteristics
Catchment/Watershed Area consist of area of
land that draining water into a stream or a water
course during a rainstorm to the outlet at a given
location.
Catchment Divide delineate a catchment from
its neighbouring catchment area.
Catchment Length distance measured along
main channel from the watershed outlet to the
basin divide.
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Catchment Slope rate of change of
elevation with respect to distance along
the principal flow path.

L
E
S

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1.5 Water Budget Equation
Continuity Equation for water in its various phases is
given as

Mass inflow - Mass outflow = Change in mass storage
S O I
Since all term in hydrological water budget may not
at the same degree of accuracy, Water Budget
Equation for a catchment at a time interval t is
written as
S T E G R P
if all density are the same
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