Engineering Hydrology Quiz

Engineering Hydrology

• Engineering Hydrology encompasses the planning, design, and operation of engineering projects for the control and use of water, involving aspects of occurrence, circulation, and distribution of water.

Branches of Hydrology

• Scientific Hydrology: discovers basic principles and relationships.
• Deterministic Hydrology: analyzes physical characteristics like slope, area, and depth in a cause-and-effect sense.
• Stochastic Hydrology: considers statistical probability of occurrence of events like peak floods.
• Applied Hydrology: applies hydrology to design and manage civil works, including studying hydrology of major storms, flood surface drainage, and water supply and irrigation.

Application of Hydrology to Engineering

• Hydrological investigations are necessary for water resources engineering projects, including:
  • Irrigation
  • Water Supply
  • Flood control
  • Reservoir
  • Water power
  • Navigation
• Factors requiring hydrological investigations and assessment:
  • Capacity of storage structures like reservoirs
  • Magnitude of flood flows
  • Minimum flow and quantity of flow available at various seasons
  • Interaction of flood wave and hydraulic structures

Importance of Hydrological Investigations

• Prevents failures of important projects due to:
  • Inadequate spillway capacity
  • Excessive flow
  • Overestimation of streamflow

Relevant Data Required by a Hydrologist

• Weather records (temperature, humidity, wind velocity)
• Precipitation data
• Streamflow records
• Evaporation and transpiration data
• Infiltration characteristics of the area
• Groundwater characteristics
• Physical and geological characteristics of the area

Hydrologic Cycle

• Continuous process involving evaporation, precipitation, and run-off.
• Water circulates through three main routes:
  • Evaporation and transpiration
  • Precipitation
  • Run-off

Components of Hydrologic Cycle

• Evaporation: loss of moisture from bodies of water and the earth's surface to the atmosphere.
• Transpiration: loss of moisture from plants to the atmosphere.
• Evapotranspiration: total loss of moisture content from bodies of water, earth's surface, plants, etc.
• Run-off: excess rainfall accumulated at the earth's surface.
• Precipitation: collective term for moisture in liquid form falling from the atmosphere to the earth's surface.

Factors Needed for Precipitation

• Moisture in the atmosphere
• Sufficient nuclei for condensation
• Good weather conditions for condensation
• Product of condensation must reach the earth

Forms of Precipitation

• Rain: principal form of precipitation in the Philippines, with drop sizes larger than 0.5 mm.
• Drizzle: fine sprinkle of numerous water droplets with sizes less than 0.5 mm and intensity less than 1 mm/hr.
• Shower: precipitation with a higher intensity than drizzle.