ERS 482/682 (Fall 2002) Lecture 1 - 1

ERS 482/682Small Watershed Hydrology

ERS 482/682 (Fall 2002) Lecture 1 - 2

Preliminaries

• Syllabus• Schedule• Background Survey

ERS 482/682 (Fall 2002) Lecture 1 - 3

HydrologyThe science that deals with the waters of the

earth and their occurrence, distribution, and circulation at the surface, underground, and in

the atmosphere.

Figure 1.1 (Manning 1987)

ERS 482/682 (Fall 2002) Lecture 1 - 4

Small watershed hydrology• Issues

– Often ungaged (i.e. little or no data)– Local variables may dominate– Temporal/spatial variability may be important

• Significance– Most watersheds are small!– TMDL assessment

Example: What is a waterbody?

ERS 482/682 (Fall 2002) Lecture 1 - 5

Hydrologic cycle

Figure 1.1 (Dunne & Leopold 1978)