Bhambra_Kanika_Assignment #2
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School
University of Waterloo *
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Course
238
Subject
Geography
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
Pages
3
Uploaded by DeaconBarracuda1640
Assignment #2: Hydrological Concepts and Theory
Kanika Bhambra
a) Define the term '
steady state
' as it applies to hydrology. Provide a
hypothetical
example of a
hydrologic system, at any scale, which would be in a steady state situation. Are most natural hydrologic
systems at steady state? Why? (3 marks)
In hydrology, steady state is referred to as a balance of inputs and outputs of water in a hydrological
system indicating that the system is in equilibrium since the input and output are equal. This means
there is no change in storage. A hypothetical example of a hydrologic system which would be in a steady
state situation is leaving the sink tap open without the stopper as the input and output of the water are
occurring at the same rate, as the water is entering its also leaving at a steady rate. Majority of natural
hydrological systems are not in steady state due to a variety of factors such as seasonal changes which
results in more or less precipitation which affects the input and output flow, which in result causes the
steady state to fluctuate.
b)
Considering a normal river with surface (i.e. tributaries) and groundwater inputs and outputs, write
the full
water balance equation
for the river considering
steady state conditions
(the river only, not the
whole watershed). (5 marks) (Be sure to clearly
define
all abbreviations used for the terms)
Full water balance equation (considering steady state conditions):
Δ
S = (P + G + Q)
input
- (G + ET + Q)
output
●
P = precipitation
●
G= groundwater inflow
●
R = river discharge
●
ET = evapotranspiration
●
Q = surface runoff
c) Write the water balance equation for Part b) above considering
non-steady state
conditions. What
changed in your equation? (2 marks)
Δ
S = inputs - outputs
→ Δ
S = (P + G + Q)
input
- (G + ET + Q)
output
≄
0
The equation cannot equal zero as the input and output are not in equilibrium.
d) Now simplify the equation in Part c) above by eliminating any
insignificant
terms and
explain why
you believe they have little impact. (2 marks)
From the equation in Part c), the insignificant terms we can eliminate are precipitation (P) and
evapotranspiration (ET). As water precipitates from the atmosphere, it also evaporates and transpires
back to the atmosphere and ideally equal to each other balancing each other out. If they are not equal
to each other, the values would be so little that it would be rounded to zero.
e) The contour map below (
Figure 1
) shows a portion of the Grand River watershed within the Region of
Waterloo. Draw the
boundary line
of the watershed that drains through the tributary marked with the
star
. (4 marks)
f)
Figure 2
shows an aerial photograph of the same area shown in
Figure 1
. Identify the major land use
within the watershed
you drew
in Part e) and briefly discuss any
two aspects
of hydrology directly
related to that land use. (5 marks)
When analyzing Figure 2, the aerial view shows that the primary land use within the drawn watershed is
agriculture. The hydrogeology is heavily dependent on precipitation and groundwater storage with
various water sources at hand. Two aspects of hydrology directly related to agriculture are distributing
water to provide crops with their needed water requirements (ex. precipitation, runoff, infiltration, etc)
and water management for irrigation in order for the crops to grow efficiently.
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