Objectives
The course is an introduction to hydrology and
hydrological cycle with particular emphasis on application aspects
related to water and environmental engineering.
COURSE OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
Course presentation. Development of hydrological science.
2 INTRODUCTION TO THE HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
Hydrological cycle components. Precipitation. Evaporation and
evapotranspiration. Runoff and streamflows. Groundwater. Human effects
on the hydrological cycle. Distribution of water resources on
earth.
3. HYDROLOGICAL INFORMATION
Instruments and methods for measuring hydrological variables. Sources
of information. Hydrological and Hydrographic services. Real time data
collection networks. Radar and satellites. Reanalysis
data.
4. WATERSHED AND DRAINAGE NETWORK CHARACTERIZATION USING GIS
Watershed delineation. Geomorphologic characterization of watersheds.
Streamflow network characterization. Horton and Strahler’s
laws.
5. INTRODUCTION TO PROBABILITY THEORY AND STATISTICS
Statistical description of data. Probability definitions. Probability
function. Properties of probability functions. Random variables,
cumulative distribution function (cdf) and probability density function
(pdf). Discrete parametric cdf. Continuous parametric cdf. Return
period and risk. Distribution fitting and goodness of fit assessment.
Statistical tests. Regression analysis. 6. PRECIPITATION
Formation of precipitation. Precipitation types. Distribution of
precipitation. Estimation of areal precipitation. Extreme precipitation
frequency analysis. Intensity duration frequency curves. Regional
analysis of extreme precipitation. 7. RUNOFF AND STREAMFLOWS
Streamflow regimes. Streamflow measurements. Flow duration curves.
Formation of runoff and streamflows. Infiltration. Hydrograph
components. Stochastic modelling of streamflow series. SEAMOD model for
monthly streamflow.
8. FLOOD HYDROGRAPH ANALYSIS
Hydrograph separation. Time of concentration estimation. Peak discharge
estimation. Regional methods for peak discharge estimation. Design
hyetographs. Rainfall-runoff models. Rational method. Unit hydrograph.
Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph. Conceptual models (time-area, linear
reservoir, Nash, Clark). SCS Unit Hydrograph. GIUH. HEC-HMS software.
9. HYDROLOGICAL ASPECTS OF RESERVOIR ANALYSIS
Types of reservoirs. Design criteria. Simulation of reservoirs. Flood control.
10. DROUGHT ANALYSIS
Drought, aridity and desertification. Characteristics of local and
regional droughts. Drought monitoring. Drought mitigation.
PRACTICUM
Hydrological analysis of a river basin.
Exams
The exams are oral and either English or
Italian
language can be used. In order to take the exam, students must complete
the homeworks. Registering through the student portal before the
official exam dates is mandatory. Exams postponment can be arranged
with the teacher.
TEXTBOOKS
1. DINGMAN, S.L. Physical hydrology,
Prentice-Hall, 2002.
2. MAIDMENT, D.(ed.), Handbook of
hydrology, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1993.
3.
BRAS R., Hydrology: an introduction to hydrologic science,
Addison-Wesley Publ. Company, Reading Ma, 1990.
Handouts and other material will be distributed in class and made available on this website
HOME
|