Hydrology

Drainage Basin and Hydrological System

Page 1:

  • Drainage Basin:

    • Area where a river gets its water from

    • Raindrop falling on the basin surface eventually enters the main river

  • Watershed:

    • Highland area separating two drainage basins

  • Gauging Station:

    • Place at the end of the basin for collecting river flow data

Page 2:

  • Hydrological System:

    • Receives water from precipitation as input

    • Water takes various routes and is stored in the basin

    • Leaves through evapotranspiration or flowing into larger rivers/sea

Page 3:

  • Input - Precipitation:

    • Rainfall, snowfall, sleet-fall, hailfall

  • Interception Storage:

    • Water retained by vegetation

  • Factors Influencing Interception:

    • Type of vegetation, wind velocity, duration of storm

Page 4:

  • Interception Storage:

    • Retention of water by vegetation

  • Throughfall and Stemflow:

    • Water passing through foliage or along stems

  • Factors Influencing Interception:

    • Type of vegetation, wind velocity, duration of storm

Page 5:

  • Interception Factors:

    • Filled up in rainstorm start

    • Influenced by storm intensity, season, climate

  • Climate Influence:

    • Arid regions have higher interception loss

Page 6:

  • River Runoff:

    • Total water leaving the basin

  • Components of Runoff:

    • Overland flow, throughflow, baseflow, direct precipitation

  • Overland Flow:

    • Thin sheet of water causing river floods

  • Formation of Overland Flow:

    • Hortonian model based on rainfall intensity and soil infiltration capacity

Page 7:

  • Hortonian Overland Flow Model:

    • Rainfall intensity vs. infiltration capacity

  • Formation of Overland Flow:

    • Excess rainfall leads to surface accumulation and flow

  • Application of HOF Model:

    • Active in arid regions, limited in humid regions due to vegetation

End of Note