TABLE OF CONTENTS

 HYDROLOGY AND HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

 Difference between hydrology and hydraulics
 The hydrologic cycle and the human impacts
 Interrelationship of phases of the hydrologic cycle: Evatranspiration,
Precipitation, Infiltration or percolation. Surface/subsurface runoff,
groundwater
 Philippine Watersheds: Delineation of drainage area, sub-basin/physical
properties determination (application in terms of project)
 WEATHER BASICS
 (Meteorology ); Atmospheric waters
 The atmosphere: composition, general characteristics and stability
 Introduction to cloud physics: nucleation, growth and distribution
 Solar radiation and earth’s energy balance
 General circulation: Thermal circulation and earth’s rotation
 Temperature: Geographic distribution, time variation and measurement
 HUMIDITY: GEOGRAPHIC IMPORTANT PHASES
OF HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
 Formation, forms (Philippine setting), types and artificially induced
 Measurement: gages and networks, radar and satellite estimates
 Precipitation data analysis: estimation of missing data
 DOUBLE MASS ANALYSIS, MEAN AREAL PRECIPITATION,
DEPTH AREA-DURATION ANALYSIS.
FREQUENCY ANALYSIS
 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HYDROLOGY AND HYDRAULICS
Hydrology (from Greek: "hýdōr" meaning "water"; and "lógos" meaning "study")
is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and
other planets, including the water cycle, water resources and environmental watershed
sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist,
Hydrology is generally related to the study of rainfall and to water in connection
to geography and geology. Hydrology is "The science which treats of water, its
properties and laws, its distribution over the earth's surface, etc."
Hydrology is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and quality of
water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and
environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist,
working within the fields of earth or environmental science, physical geography, geology
or civil and environmental engineering. Hydrology is subdivided into surface water
hydrology, groundwater hydrology (hydrogeology), and marine hydrology. Domains of
hydrology include hydrometeorology, surface hydrology, hydrogeology, drainage basin
management and water quality, where water plays the central role.
Hydraulics is “That department of science which deals with the conveyance of
water or other liquids through pipes or other artificial channels, and with the various
mechanical applications of the force exerted by moving liquids. Often used in a wider
sense, corresponding to what is now expressed by hydrokinetics or hydrodynamics. ".
Hydraulics is more geared towards physics, the study of the motion of liquids in relation
to disciplines such as fluid mechanics and fluids dynamics, etc.
Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the
mechanical properties of liquids or fluids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid
version of pneumatics. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for
hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power,
hydraulics are used for the generation, control, and transmission of power by the use of
pressurized liquids. Hydraulic topics range through some part of science and most of
engineering modules, and cover concepts such as pipe flow, dam design, fluidics and
fluid control circuitry, pumps, turbines, hydropower, computational fluid dynamics, flow
measurement, river channel behavior and erosion.
Free surface hydraulics is the branch of hydraulics dealing with free surface flow,
such as occurring in rivers, canals, lakes, estuaries and seas. Its sub-field open channel
flow studies the flow in open channels.
The word "hydraulics" originates from the Greek word (hydraulikos) which in turn
originates from (hydor, Greek for water) and (aulos, meaning pipe).

THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

Nature is a great recycler, and water is a prime example. The water that flows in
streams comes from the ocean and is returned again in a constant cycle called the
hydrologic cycle. Although complex in its functioning, the hydrologic cycle can be simply
explained as the following steps:
1. Water evaporates from the oceans and lakes of the earth.
2. The evaporated water vapor forms into clouds.
3. The clouds move through the atmosphere in global weather patterns.
4. The water vapor condenses and precipitates in the form of rain, snow, or hail.
5. The rain lands on the ground and flows to the streams.
6. The streams flow to rivers and eventually into the oceans and lakes.

HUMAN IMPACTS ON THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE can be observed:

• Rich and modern lifestyle means more consumption of power. Power can be
generated from thermal, nuclear & hydro methods mainly. Let us say power is produced
from hydro project which require construction of a dam. When there is a dam there is a
reservoir with it. Construction of a reservoir always leads to imbalance in hydrological
cycle.
• Increasing growth of industry and more houses means more cemented or
paved area which means less Infiltration of water and more runoff which also causes
imbalance of hydrological cycle.
• Lavish lifestyle means more water for washing ,cleaning and recreation .When
water is from surface source like a river ,reservoir, or from a lake then it is ok to some
extent but when it solely depends on underground sources of water it is a problem
because it can be extracted at a rapid rate but its recharge takes time.
• A warmer atmosphere can hold more water, giving greater potential for strong
storms and floods.
• Melting of ice in Greenland and Antarctica are causing rates of sea level rise
to accelerate.
• The decreasing size of the Arctic ice cap means less sunlight is reflected back
to space and more is absorbed by the ocean, thus amplifying the rate of warming.

INTERRELATIONSHIP OF PHASES OF HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE

5 Phases of Hydrological Cycle
1. Evapotranspiration
2. Condensation
3. Precipitation
4. Infiltration / PERCOLATION
5. Run-off
Evapotranspiration - is the sum of evaporation from the land surface plus transpiration
from plants. Evaporation: the transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it
moves from the ground or bodies of water into the overlying atmosphere.
• Transpiration: the release of water vapor from plants into the atmosphere
Condensation - Condensation generally occurs in the atmosphere when the warm air
rises, cools and loses its capacity to hold the water vapor. As a result, excess water
vapor condenses to form cloud droplets.
Precipitation - The moisture that falls from the atmosphere as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
Infiltration or Percolation - It is the entry of water into the soil surface after the
precipitation.The infiltration capacity decreases as the soil moisture content of soils
surface layers increases. If the precipitation rate exceeds the infiltration rate, runoff will
usually occur unless there is some physical barrier.
Surface run-off - is the flow of water that occurs when excess storm water, melt water,
or other sources flows over the Earth’s surface.

PHILIPPINE WATERSHEDS

 WATERSHEDS
-it is an area of land where all the water that is under it or drains off of it
collects into the same place (e.g. RIVER).
-also known as drainage basin or catchment.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF WATERSHEDS
The physiographical characteristics of a watershed influence to a large
degree its hydrological responses and especially the flow regime during floods
and periods of drought.
The concentration time, which characterizes the speed and intensity of the
watershed's reaction to stress (rainfall), is influenced by the different
morphological characteristics.

Watershed Surface

A watershed is the area of reception of the rainfalls and of supplying the

watercourse; the outlet flows depending thus on its surface. The surface of a
watershed can be measured using a variety of methods: superposing a grid over
the watershed map, using a planimeter or digitalizing methods.

Watershed Shape

The shape of a watershed influences the shape of its characteristic hydrograph.

For example, a long shape watershed generates, for the same rainfall, a lower
outlet flow, as the concentration time is higher. A watershed having a fan-shape
presents a lower concentration time, and it generates higher flow.

PHILIPPINE WATERSHEDS
There are many watersheds in the Philippines basically because we have
abundant rainfall.
 Lamesa dam in Metro Manila
- reservoir is an earth dam whose reservoir can hold up to 50.5 million
cubic meters and occupying an area or 27 square kilometers in Quezon
City.
-Angat-Ipo-La mesa water system
-supplies most of the water supply of Metro Manila.

 The Pantabangan–Carranglan Watershed in Nueva Ecija

- It encompasses 84,500 hectares of the drainage basin
- It is considered a critical watershed for the agricultural economy and
hydroelectric power generation in the region of Central Luzon

 Angat Dam in Bulacan

- Is a concrete water reservoir embankment hydroelectric dam
-supplies about 90 percent of raw water requirements through the facilities
of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System
-it irrigates about 28,000 hectares of farmland in the provinces
of Bulacan and Pampanga
-dam has a normal high water level of 210 meters

 Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan City

 - Maria Cristina Falls is a waterfall of the Agus river in the island of
Mindanao. The primary source of electric power for the city’s industries,
being harnessed by the Agus VI Hydroelectric Plant

 The Manupali Watershed in Bukidnon

- There are 220 streams in the Manupali watershed that traverse 636,000
meters and drains to some 40,000 hectares of agricultural lands.

Being a tropical country, the Philippines has abundant rainfall, many bodies of water
and lots of sunshine. For now remember that the main function of a watershed is the
production of a continuous water supply that would maintain the lifeforms within it and in
the area fed by its stream.
DELINEATION OF DRAINAGE AREA
WATERSHED DELINEATION
- is the process of identifying the drainage area of a point or set of points
-water flows in the direction of the terrain steepest downhill slope
-streamlines do not flow towards drainage divides, and do not intersect them
-drainage divides are found along the highest points of the terrain
SUB-BASIN-Is a structural geologic feature where a basin forms within a larger sub-
basin
 421 Principal rivers ( river basins) in 119 proclaimed watersheds and 18 of these
are considered major river basins. Some river basins includes

Why Delineate
 Delineated watersheds are required for basins watershed characterization report.
 So we can characterize and investigate what is going on in one portion of the study
area versus another.
 Delineation is part of the process known as watershed segmentation. i.e. dividing
the watershed into discrete land and channel segments to analyze watershed
behavior.

WEATHER BASICS

WEATHER
The state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat, dryness,
sunshine, wind, rain, etc.
ATMOSPHERE
Layer or a set of layers of gases surrounding a planet or other material body that
is held in place by the gravity of that body. An atmosphere is more likely to be retained if
the gravity it is subject to is high and the temperature of the atmosphere is low.
ATMOSPHERIC WATER:
All of the water is located in the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere.
Water is present in variable amounts in the atmosphere, from 0 % to 4 %. The water in
the atmosphere makes up only a very small percentage of the total water on Earth.
In the atmosphere, water exists as a gas (water vapour from evaporation), as a
liquid (droplets of rain and liquid water that coats solid particles), and as a solid (snow
and ice). Its structure depends on its state.

The atmosphere is the superhighway in the sky that moves water everywhere
over the earth. Water at the Earth’s surface evaporates into water vapor which rises up
into the sky to become part of a cloud which will float off with the winds, eventually
releasing water back to Earth as precipitation.
About 90% of water in the atmosphere is produced by evaporation from water
bodies, while the other 10% comes from transpiration from plants.

THE ATMOSPHERE: Composition, General Characteristics

and Stability
COMPOSITION:
The atmosphere is composed of a mix of several different gases in differing
amounts. The permanent gases whose percentages do not change from day to day are
nitrogen, oxygen and argon. Nitrogen accounts for 78% of the atmosphere, oxygen
21% and argon 0.9%. Gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane, and ozone
are trace gases that account for about a tenth of one percent of the atmosphere. Water
vapor is unique in that its concentration varies from 0-4% of the atmosphere depending
on where you are and what time of the day it is. In the cold, dry artic regions water
vapor usually accounts for less than 1% of the atmosphere, while in humid, tropical
regions water vapor can account for almost 4% of the atmosphere. Water vapor
content is very important in predicting weather.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS:
o Mainly composed of invisible gas, molecules and aerosols
o The composition of atmosphere is fairly uniform up to the height of 6km.
o The contents of water vapor vary with temperature.
o The composition of gases changes during daytime. At noon, light gases
predominate.
o It has 5 layers. (Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere,
Exosphere)

STABILITY
o Atmospheric stability determines whether or not air will rise and cause storms,
sink and cause clear skies, or essentially do nothing.
o If an air parcel is warmer that its surrounding environment, then it will be less
dense than its surrounding and will rise like a hot air balloon.
o If an air parcel is cooler than its surrounding environment, then it will be denser
that its environment will sink.
o If an air parcel is the same temperature as its surrounding environment, then the
parcel will not move of its own accord.

INTRODUCTION TO CLOUD PHYSICS

CLOUD
• an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of minute liquid droplets, frozen crystals,
or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body.
• controls the Earth’s energy budget and global temperature, power its many
storms, and provide the precipitation that sustains life.

CLOUD FORMATION - Clouds form when moist, warm rising air cools and expands in
the atmosphere.

• The water or ice that make up clouds travels into the sky within air as water
vapor.
• Water vapor gets into air mainly by evaporation – some of the liquid water from
the ocean, lakes, and rivers turns into water vapor and travels in the air.
• When air rises in the atmosphere it gets cooler and is under less pressure.
 • When air cools, it’s not able to hold all of the water vapor it once was. Air also
can’t hold as much water when air pressure drops.
• The vapor becomes small water droplets or ice crystals and a cloud is formed.

Types of Clouds:

 Cirrus Clouds -made of ice crystals and look like long, thin, wispy white
streamers high in the sky. They are commonly known as mare's tails because
they are shaped like the tail of a horse. Cirrus clouds are often seen during fair
weather. But if they build up larger over time and are followed by cirrostratus
clouds, there may be a warm front on the way.

 Cumulus Clouds - are the clouds you learned to draw at an early age and that
serve as the symbol of all clouds (much like the snowflake symbolizes winter).
Their tops are rounded, puffy, and a brilliant white when sunlit, while their
bottoms are flat and relatively dark.

 Stratus Clouds - hang low in the sky as a flat, featureless, uniform layer of
grayish cloud. They resemble fog that hugs the horizon (instead of the ground).

 Nimbostratus Clouds - cover the sky in a dark gray layer. They can extend from
the low and middle layers of the atmosphere and are thick enough to blot out the
sun.
 

SOLAR RADIATION AND EARTH’S ENERGY BALANCE

What is SOLAR RADIATION?

• Solar radiation is the radiation, or energy we get from the sun.
• It is also known as short-wave radiation.
• Solar radiation comes in many forms, such as visible light, radio waves, heat
(infrared), x-rays, and ultraviolet rays.
• Measurements for solar radiation are higher on clear, sunny day and usually low
on cloudy days. When the sun is down, or there are heavy clouds blocking the
sun, solar radiation is measured at zero.

EARTH’S ENERGY BALANCE

• Earth's Energy balance describes how the incoming energy from the sun is used
and returned to space.
• If incoming and outgoing energy are in balance, the earth's temperature remains
constant.
• The energy balance drives the weather and life on earth.

• Most of the energy emitted from the earth’s surface does not go directly out to
space. This emitted energy is reabsorbed by clouds and by the gases in the
atmosphere. Some of it gets redistributed by convection.
• The majority of the energy is reabsorbed by the greenhouse gases such as
methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, carbon dioxide and water vapor. These gases
 constantly emit the sun’s energy back into the atmosphere and keep the earth a
habitable temperature.
• Most of the energy makes its way back out to space and Earth’s energy balance
is fairly well maintained. The energy that doesn’t make its way out is responsible
for global warming.

Essentially 100% of the energy that fuels the earth comes from the sun. To
maintain a constant global average temperature, all of the sun’s radiation that enters
Earth’s atmosphere must eventually be sent back to space. This is achieved through
Earth’s energy balance.

 50% of the incoming energy is absorbed by the earth’s surface i.e. the land and
oceans.
 30% is directly reflected back to space by clouds, the earth’s surface and
different gasses and particles in the atmosphere.
 20% is absorbed by the atmosphere and clouds

NATURAL CHANGES FORCING’S CHANGES TO THE BALANCE

 Changes in the Sun’s brightness
 Variations in Earth’s orbit and tilt
-Milankovitch cycles
 Large volcanic eruptions
-Add particles to atmosphere
MANMADE CLIMATE FORCING’S CHANGES TO THE BALANCE
 Particle pollution Changes
-how radiation reflected/absorbed
 Changing surface of earth (deforestation)
-Changes how radiation reflected/absorbed
 Adding greenhouse gases
-Changes how heat is re-radiated to space
 GENERAL CIRCULATION
The worldwide system of winds, which transports warm air from the equator
where solar heating is greatest towards the higher latitudes, is called the general
circulation of the atmosphere, and it gives rise to the Earth’s climate zones.

THERMAL CIRCULATION
Thermal circulation is a circulation generated by pressure gradients produced
by differential heating.

Sea and Land Breezes

Figure 1: Daytime development of sea breeze

During the daytime land heats up much faster than the water as it receives
solar radiation from the Sun (Figure 1). The warmer air over the land then begins to
expand and rise forming a low. At the same time, the air over the ocean becomes a
cool high because water’s slow rate heating. Air begins to flow as soon as there is
a significance difference in air temperature and pressure across the land of sea
gradient. This localized air flow system is called sea breeze. Sea breeze usually
begins in the midmorning and reaches its maximum strength in the later afternoon
when the greatest temperature and pressure contrast exist.

Figure 2: Nighttime development of land breeze

At sunset, the land surface stops receiving radiation from the sun (Figure 2). As
night continues the land surface begins losing heat energy as much faster rate
than the water surface. After a few hours, air temperature and pressure contrast
begin to develop between the land and ocean surfaces. The land surface being
cooler than the water becomes a thermal high-pressure area. The ocean becomes a
 warm thermal low. Wind flow now moves from the land to the open ocean. This type
of localized flow is called a land breeze.

EARTH ROTATION
The earth is nearly spherical with a diameter of about 7,900 miles (12.7 x 103
km). It makes one rotation about its axis every 24 hours and completes a revolution
about the sun in a period of approximately 365 1/4 days. The earth revolves around the
sun in a nearly circular path, with the sun located slightly off center of the circle. The
earth's mean distance to the sun is about 9.3 x 107 miles (1.5 x 108 km). Around
January 1, the earth is closest to the sun while on around July 1 it is most remote, about
3.3% farther away.

Temperature: geographic distribution, time variation and measurement

Temperature
Temperature is a numerical measure of hot and cold and also a measure of a
quality of a state of material. Types of temperature are air temperature and terrestrial
(ground) temperature. Air temperature is most commonly measured weather
parameter. It is the measure of how hot or cold the air is. Terrestrial temperature is
normally measured at 9 am and is the lowest temperature recorded since 6pm the
previous day.
Geographic Distribution of Temperature
In general, surface air temperature tends to be highest at low latitudes.
Distribution of temperature varies both horizontally and vertically. Horizontal distribution
of temperature is commonly shown by isotherms. Isotherms are line connecting points
that have an equal temperature.

The horizontal distribution of temperature over the globe can be studied easily
from the isotherm maps of January and July months since the seasonal extremes of
high and low temperature are most obvious in both northern and southern hemispheres
during these months.

When we analyze an isotherm map, it can be seen that the horizontal distribution of
temperature is uneven. The factors responsible for the uneven horizontal distribution of
temperature are
1. LATITUDE
Higher the angle of incidence, higher is the temperature. Similarly, lower the
angle of incidence, lower is the temperature.

2. ALTITUDE
As we all know, the temperature in the troposphere goes on decreasing with
increase in height.
Temperature decreases at an average rate of nearly 6 degree Celsius per 1000
m altitude, which is known as Normal Lapse Rate.

3. LAND AND SEA CONTRAST

Compared to land, the sea gets heated slowly and loses heat slowly. Land heats
up and cools down quickly.
As a result, the temperature is relatively higher on land during day time and it is
higher in water during the night.

4. OCEAN CURRENTS
Ocean Currents are of two types – warm and cold.
Warm currents make the coasts along which they flow warmer, while cold
currents reduce the temperature of the coasts along which they flow.

5. AIR MASSES
Like the land and sea breezes, the passage of air masses also affects the
temperature.
The places, which come under the influence of warm air masses experience higher
temperature and the places that come under the influence of cold air masses
experience low temperature.

6. VEGETATION COVER
Soil devoid of vegetation cover receives heat more rapidly than the soil under
vegetation cover. Because vegetation cover absorbs much of sun’s heat and then
prevents quick radiation from the earth whereas the former radiates it more rapidly.
Hence the temperature variations in densely forested areas are lower than those
in desert areas.

Note: Along with these, the other factors which are responsible for the uneven
horizontal distribution of temperature are winds, nature of the soil, slope and aspect of
the surface, relief features, etc.

The Variation of Temperature

The amount of solar energy received by any region varies with time of day, with
seasons and with latitude. These differences in solar energy create temperature
variations. Temperature also varies in differences in topographical surface and with
altitude. These temperature variations create forces that drive the atmosphere in its
endless motions.
DIURNAL VARIATION
Diurnal variation is the change in temperature from day to night brought about by
the daily rotation of the Earth. The Earth receives heat during the day by solar radiation
but continually loses heat by terrestrial radiation. Warming and cooling depend on an
imbalance of solar and terrestrial radiation. During the day, solar radiation exceeds
terrestrial radiation and the surface becomes warmer. At night, solar radiation ceases,
but terrestrial radiation continues and cools the surface.

SEASONAL VARIATION
In addition to its daily rotation, the Earth revolves in a complete orbit around the
sun once each year. Since the axis of the Earth tilts to the plane of orbit, the angle of
incident solar radiation varies seasonally between hemispheres. The Northern
Hemisphere is warmer in June, July, and August because it receives more solar energy
than does the Southern Hemisphere. During December, January, and February, the
opposite is true; the Southern Hemisphere receives more solar energy and is warmer.

VARIATION WITH LATITUDE

The shape of the Earth causes a geographical variation in the angle of incident
solar radiation. Since the Earth is essentially spherical, the sun is more nearly overhead
in equatorial regions than at higher latitudes. Equatorial regions, therefore, receive the
most radiant energy and are warmest.

VARIATION WITH ALTITUDE

Temperature normally decreases with increasing altitude throughout the
troposphere. This decrease of temperature with altitude is defined as lapse rate.

Temperature Measurements
Thermometer- a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient.
Thermograph – An instrument that records air temperature continuously on graphing
paper.

Thermocouple – is a temperature-measuring device consisting of two dissimilar

conductors that contact each other at one or more spots.

Pyrometer- is a type of thermometer used to measure high temperatures

HUMIDITY: THE GEOGRAPHIC IMPORTANT PHASES OF HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
What is Humidity?
-Refers to the amount of moisture (water vapor) in the surrounding air.
-It indicates the likelihood of precipitation, dew, or fog.

Water Vapor
-The source of all condensation and precipitation.
-The gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye.
-Water vapor can be produced from the evaporation or boiling of liquid water or from
the sublimation of ice

Three Types of Humidity:

1. Relative Humidity
-Is a measure of the amount of moisture in the air with the amount of moisture the
air can hold.
-Expressed as a percentage of how much moisture the air could possibly hold at the
temperature.
2. Absolute Humidity
-The total amount of water vapor in a given volume of air.
-The measure of water vapor (moisture) in the air, regardless of temperature.
3. Specific Humdity
-Is the ratio of the water vapor in the atmosphere to the air content on a mass basis.

The Formation of Humidity

If the water vapor content stays the same and the temperature drops, the relative
humidity increases. If the water vapor content stays the same and the temperature
rises, the relative humidity decreases. This is because colder air doesn't require as
much moisture to become saturated as warmer air.

MEASUREMENT: GAUGES AND NETWORKS, RADAR AND SATELLITE ESTIMATES

Precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under
gravity. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, and hail.

Importance of measuring precipitation:

Most of the precipitation becomes groundwater so they'll how much water we have and how
long it will still be available. Precipitation is a resource of fresh water. We do not only use water
for our daily needs, we use water to produce energy.

Weather forecasts are based on complex mathematical equations where the variables are
determined through observations such as precipitation amount and intensity. So, precipitation
measurement is important for weather forecasting.

Methods used in measuring Precipitation:

Rain Gauges

Meteorological instrument for measuring the amount of precipitation (especially rainfall

amounts) fallen during a given time interval at a certain location. In short – the rain gauge are
used to measure rainfall. It is commonly used in personal or automatic weather stations.

One disadvantage is that a rain gauge is a point measurement. Even with a network of gauges,
there will be area gaps in the data. Also, some gauges are read only once a day. This does not
allow storm intensities to be measured. Furthermore, rain gauges are subject to mechanical and
electrical malfunctions. The hydrologist must keep in mind all of these problems when
estimating the average rainfall for a basin.
Satellites

• Weather satellites are the sole resource to measure rainfall over the vast majority of
oceans.

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission

Global Precipitation Measurement

Radar

• Weather radars are excellent resource for measuring distribution of rainfall within their
coverage, which can extend to coastal areas.
• In the recent years, the PAGASA acquired several Doppler Weather Radars. These
instruments send out electromagnetic signals which hit objects that are in the way.
These objects reflect the electromagnetic signals, and the receiver for the radar listens
for these reflections.

PRECIPITATION DATA ANALYSIS ESTIMATION OF MISSING DATA

 • The point observation from a precipitation gauge may have a short break in the record
because of instrument failure or absence of the observer. Thus, it is often necessary to
estimate the missing record using data from the neighboring station. The following
methods are most commonly used for estimating the missing records.
Simple Arithmetic Average Method:

• In this method simultaneous rainfall records of three close-by stations are made use of.
The stations should however be evenly spaced around the station with missing records.
A simple arithmetic average of the rainfall of the three selected stations gives the
estimate of the missing value. This method can be used to calculate monthly as well as
annual missing rainfall values. This method should be used only when normal annual
precipitation at each of the selected stations is within 10% of that station for which
records are missing.
Method of Weightage or Normal Ratio Method:

• When the normal annual rainfall of any of the selected stations is more than 10% of that
station with missing records simple average method cannot be used, then the method to
be adopted consists of weighting the rainfall value by the ratios of the normal annual
rainfall values.

DOUBLE MASS ANALYSIS

What is Double Mass Analysis?

Double mass analysis is a commonly used data analysis approach for
investigating the behaviour of records made of hydrological or meteorological data at a
number of locations. It is used to determine whether there is a need for corrections to
the data - to account for changes in data collection procedures or other local conditions.
Such changes may result from a variety of things including changes in instrumentation,
changes in observation procedures, or changes in gauge location or surrounding
conditions. Double mass analysis for checking consistency of
a hydrological or meteorological record is considered to be an essential tool before
taking it for analysis purpose. This method is based on the hypothesis that each item of
the recorded data of a population is consistent.
In hydrometeorology, it is a test of "the consistency of the rainfall record at a
given station by comparing its accumulated annual record with that of the accumulated
annual, or seasonal, mean values of several other nearby stations."
Hydrometeorology is the study of the atmospheric and terrestrial phases of the
hydrological cycle with emphasis on the interrelationship between them.
Station in science generally, is a permanent or temporary location where
scientific observations and measurements are made.
Double mass analysis for checking consistency of a hydrological or
meteorological record is considered to be an essential tool before taking it for analysis
purpose.
Double Mass Curve

Mean Areal Precipitation

Why is it important to know the Mean Areal Precipitation?
The river forecasting models in use by the NWS(National Weather
Service) require areal estimates of precipitation. This is because the models
simulate the rainfall-runoff process on a drainage catchment area basis.
Large river basins are sub-divided into these smaller catchments or runoff
zones. Runoff from excess precipitation in each zone is used to calculate
streamflow which is then used to produce river stage forecasts.

What is a drainage basin/drainage catchment?

It is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a
common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water.
Estimation of areal precipitation

A single point precipitation measurement is quite often not representative of the volume
of precipitation falling over a given catchment area. A dense network of point
measurements and/or radar estimates can provide a better representation of the true
volume over a given area. A network of precipitation measurements can be converted to
areal estimates using any of a number of techniques which include the following:
1) Arithmetic Mean - This technique calculates areal precipitation using the arithmetic
mean of all the point or areal measurements considered in the analysis.
2) Thiessen Polygon - This is another graphical technique which calculates station
weights based on the relative areas of each measurement station in the Thiessen
polygon network. The individual weights are multiplied by the station observation and
the values are summed to obtain the areal average precipitation.
3) Distance Weighting/Gridded - This is another station weighting technique. A grid of
point estimates is made based on a distance weighting scheme. Each observed point
value is given a unique weight for each grid point based on the distance from the grid
point in question. The grid point precipitation value is calculated based on the sum of
the individual station weight multiplied by observed station value. Once the grid points
have all been estimated they are summed and the sum is divided by the number of grid
points to obtain the areal average precipitation.
 Depth, Area-Duration (DAD) Analysis & Frequency Analysis

Depth, Area-Duration (DAD) Analysis

 It is to determine the maximum amounts of rainfall within a various durations over areas of
various sizes.

 Once the sufficient rainfall records for the region are collected the basic or raw data it can be
analysed and processed to produce useful information in the form of curves or statistical values
for the use in planning of water resources development projects.

The preparation of DAD curves is done in ff. steps.

1. Examine the rainfall records of the regions in which catchment area under consideration is
located. Also consider records of meteorologically similar regions. From it prepare a list of most
severe storms with their dates of occurrence and duration

Meteorologically -The science that deals with the phenomena of the atmosphere especially
weather conditions.

2. For the listed severe storms prepare an iso-hyetal maps and determine the rainfall
values over the area of each isohyet(rainfall contour)
 3. Draw on a graph curves connecting area and rainfall values for different durations.

Although most severe storm in the listed storms may not have occurred right over the catchment under
consideration there is a possibility of such occurrence. So from DAD curves 1, 2 and 3 rainfall depths for
the catchment area of proposed project are read.

These give the rainfall depths when the storms are centered over the catchment.
Frequency Analysis

 It is the study of the frequency of letters or groups of letters in a ciphertext.

 This method is used as an aid to breaking classical ciphers.

 It is a technique used by hydrologists to predict flow values corresponding to specific return

periods or probabilities along a river.

 It is used to calculate statistical information such as mean, standard deviation and skewness
which is further used to create frequency distribution graphs.

Different types of frequency distribution:

1. Gumbel

2. Normal

3. Log-Normal

4. Exponential

5. Pearson

6. Log-Pearson

After the flood frequency curves are plotted. These graphs are then used to design flow values
corresponding to specific return periods which can be used for hydrologic planning purposes.

Flood frequency plays a vital role in providing estimates or recurrence of floods/ which is used in
designing, structures such as dams, bridges, culverts, highways sewage disposal plants, waterworks and
industrial buildings.

Structures that can easily designed with the help of flood frequency curve.

 Dams

 Bridges

 Culverts

 Highways

 Sewage disposal plants

 Water works

 Industrial buildings

These estimates are useful in providing a measurement parameter to analyse the damage
corresponding to specific flows during floods.

Accurate estimation of flood frequency not only help the engineers in designing safe structures but also
in protection against economic losses due to maintenance of structures.
Return Period (recurrence interval)

 It is the inverse of the probability that an event will be exceeded in a given year.

 It provides an estimate of the likelihood of any event in one year.

Flood frequency curve is used to relate flood discharge values to return periods to provide a estimate of
the intensity of flood event.