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?
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- Can we simplify the equation if we look at certain time periods?
What are the assumptions? - What fundamental equation/principle is used when looking at water budget of a “control volume” – write down an equation
What are the assumptions?
- We can simplify it to P = ET + R. We assume that the dS = 0 and that GWin = GWout over a longer time period.
- Conservation of mass. dM/dt = dV/dt = ∆S = I – O
What is the runoff ratio?
Rough estimate for Norway and mean global land surface?
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?
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?
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?
Q = U * A
Possible velocity measurements:
- Portable Current Meter
- Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler
- Salt/Tracer dilution
What is interception?
What causes interception losses?
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)
→ Increased flood risk
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