Catchment hydrlolohy & local water balance

8 important questions on Catchment hydrlolohy & local water balance

What is a catchment? What are the relevant terms to describe it?

Catchment
Area of land in which all water drains into a stream/river and ultimately flows towards a defined outlet

Divide
Boundary of a catchment (no surface or outflows across the divide, except for the outlet)


Write down the water-budget equation for a catchment
  1. Can we simplify the equation if we look at certain time periods?
    What are the assumptions?
  2. What fundamental equation/principle is used when looking at water budget of a “control volume” – write down an equation

dS = P + GWin - (ET + R + GWout)
  1. We can simplify it to P = ET + R. We assume that the dS = 0 and that GWin = GWout over a longer time period.
  2. Conservation of mass. dM/dt = dV/dt = ∆S = I – O

What is the runoff ratio?
Rough estimate for Norway and mean global land surface?

Runoff ratio: C = R / P
Fraction of precipitation that appears as runoff
Low runoff ratio → water loss from evapotranspiration (ET) is large
High runoff ratio → water loss from evapotranspiration (ET) is small

Ruoff ratio for Norway
Precipitation: 1415 mm/year
Total runoff: 1180 mm/year
C = R / P = 1180 / 1415 ≈ 83% → low ET

The global runoff ratio is 39% → High ET
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What is the difference between discharge and runoff?

Discharge, Q: Volume of water passing through a given cross-section at a given time [m3/s]
Runoff, R: Discharge divided by the catchment area or water depth averaged over catchment; expressed in m [mm] water depth

What is a hydrograph? How can it be obtained?

Record of discharge over time

Measurement of stream velocity and cross-section of stream.
Q = U * A

Possible velocity measurements:
  • Portable Current Meter
  • Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler
  • Salt/Tracer dilution

How to measure river discharge? What methods are available?

Measurement of stream velocity and cross-section of stream.
Q = U * A

Possible velocity measurements:
  • Portable Current Meter
  • Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler
  • Salt/Tracer dilution

What is interception?
What causes interception losses?

Interception
Temporary storage of precipitation by vegetation; eventually lost by evaporation

How does deforestation affect the water budget in a catchment?

  • Deforestation decreases the amount of evapotranspiration
    → reduced transpiration, interception and evaporation from interception stores)
Runoff increase
→ Increased flood risk

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