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Hydrology
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:34:54
Abstract
The course introduces the students to engineering hydrology. It covers first physical hydrology, that is the description and the measurement of hydrological processes (precipitation, interception, evapotranspiration, runoff, erosion, and snow), and it introduces then the basic mathematical models of the single processes and of the rainfall-runoff transformation, thereby including flood analysis.
Objective
Know the main features of engineering hydrology. Apply methods to estimate hydrological variables for dimensioning hydraulic structures and managing water ressources.
Content
The hydrological cycle: global water resources, water balance, space and time scales of hydrological processes. Precipitation: mechanisms of precipitation formation, precipitation measurements, variability of precipitation in space and time, precipitation regimes, point/basin precipitation, isohyetal method, Thiessen polygons, storm rainfall, design hyetograph. Interception: measurement and estimation. Evaporation and evapotranspiration: processes, measurement and estimation, potential and actual evapotranspiration, energy balance method, empirical methods. Infiltration: measurement, Horton’s equation, empirical and conceptual models, phi-index and percentage method, SCS-CN method. Surface runoff and subsurface flow: Hortonian and Dunnian surface runoff, streamflow measurement, streamflow regimes, annual hydrograph, flood hydrograph analysis – baseflow separation, flow duration curve. Basin characteristics: morphology, topographic and phreatic divide, hypsometric curve, slope, drainage density. Rainfall-runoff models (R-R): rationale, linear model of rainfall-runoff transformation, concept of the instantaneous unit hydrograph (IUH), linear reservoir, Nash model. Flood estimation methods: flood frequency analysis, deterministic methods, probabilistic methods (e.g. statistical regionalisation, indirect R-R methods for flood estimation, rational method). Erosion and sediment transport: watershed scale erosion, soil erosion by water, estimation of surface erosion, sediment transport. Snow (and ice) hydrology: snow characteristic variables and measurements, estimation of snowmelt processes by the energy budget equation and conceptual melt models (temperature index method and degree-day method), snowmelt runoff.
Resources
Lecture Notes
The lecture notes as well as the lecture presentations and handouts may be downloaded from the website of the Chair of Hydrology and Water Resources Management.
Literature
Chow, V.T., Maidment, D.R. and Mays, L.W. (1988). Applied Hydrology, New York, McGraw-Hill. Dingman, S.L. (2002). Physical Hydrology, 2nd ed., Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall. Dyck, S. und Peschke, G. (1995). Grundlagen der Hydrologie, 3. Aufl., Berlin, Verlag für Bauwesen. Maidment, D.R. (1993). Handbook of Hydrology, New York, McGraw-Hill. Maniak, U. (1997). Hydrologie und Wasserwirtschaft, eine Einführung für Ingenieure, Springer, Berlin. Manning, J.C. (1997). Applied Principles of Hydrology, 3rd ed., Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall.
Learning Materials (Links)
- Main link
- Website Hydrology
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- BSC , MSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- session examination
- Mode
- written 120 minutes
- Aids
- Einfacher, nicht programmierbarer Taschenrechner mit leerem Speicher; eine einheitliche Formelsammlung wird in der Prüfung ausgegeben.
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise |
Hydrology
The lecturers will communicate the exact lesson times of ONLINE courses.
|
|
2 h weekly |