Hydrology Course

Lesson 1 • Hydrological Units and Data

Introduces measurement units, scales, and data types used throughout hydrology. Ensures students can interpret and compare hydrological datasets accurately.

Lesson 2 • The Science of Hydrology

Defines hydrology, its subdisciplines, and its role in water resource management. Situates the field within earth sciences and engineering practice.

Lesson 3 • The Global Water Cycle

Examines the continuous movement of water through atmosphere, land, and oceans. Provides the conceptual framework for all subsequent hydrological analysis.

Lesson 1 • Precipitation Measurement

Covers rain gauge types, radar, and satellite-based measurement methods. Addresses instrument siting, errors, and correction procedures.

Lesson 2 • Extreme Precipitation Analysis

Introduces frequency analysis and depth-duration-frequency relationships for design storms. Prepares students to estimate rare rainfall events for engineering applications.

Lesson 3 • Atmospheric Moisture Fundamentals

Explains humidity, atmospheric stability, and moisture transport. Establishes the atmospheric conditions that drive precipitation formation.

Lesson 4 • Spatial Interpolation of Rainfall

Applies statistical and geostatistical methods to estimate areal rainfall from point data. Directly supports watershed-scale water balance calculations.

Lesson 1 • Actual ET Estimation and Remote Sensing

Applies energy balance models and satellite data to map actual ET over landscapes. Extends point-scale methods to regional water balance assessments.

Lesson 2 • Reference and Potential ET Methods

Compares Penman-Monteith, Hargreaves, and Priestley-Taylor methods for ET estimation. Guides method selection based on data availability and climate context.

Lesson 3 • Soil Moisture Dynamics

Describes soil water retention, field capacity, and wilting point in the vadose zone. Links soil moisture state to infiltration, runoff generation, and ET partitioning.

Lesson 4 • Evaporation from Open Water

Examines energy and aerodynamic controls on lake and reservoir evaporation. Provides methods for estimating open-water evaporation in water balance studies.

Lesson 1 • Infiltration Theory and Equations

Presents the physics of water entry into soil and classical infiltration models. Establishes the mathematical basis for runoff volume estimation.

Lesson 2 • Curve Number Method

Applies the curve number approach to estimate direct runoff from storm rainfall. Covers CN table selection, adjustments, and limitations for practical use.

Lesson 3 • Runoff Generation Mechanisms

Distinguishes Hortonian overland flow, saturation excess, and subsurface stormflow. Connects soil, topography, and antecedent moisture to runoff type.

Lesson 1 • Streamflow Measurement

Covers velocity-area, dilution, and acoustic methods for discharge measurement. Ensures students can collect and quality-control field streamflow data.

Lesson 2 • Flood Frequency Analysis

Fits probability distributions to annual peak flow series to estimate design floods. Supports infrastructure sizing and flood risk assessment.

Lesson 3 • Low Flow and Baseflow Analysis

Analyses low-flow statistics and flow duration curves for water supply and ecology. Complements flood analysis with dry-season streamflow characterisation.

Lesson 4 • Hydrograph Components

Identifies rising limb, peak, recession, and baseflow components of a storm hydrograph. Provides the analytical foundation for hydrograph separation and modelling.

Lesson 1 • Darcy's Law and Groundwater Flow

Applies Darcy's law to one- and two-dimensional groundwater flow problems. Introduces the groundwater flow equation and boundary conditions.

Lesson 2 • Groundwater Recharge and Discharge

Quantifies natural recharge mechanisms and groundwater discharge to streams. Links surface and groundwater systems for integrated water balance analysis.

Lesson 3 • Well Hydraulics and Pumping Tests

Analyses drawdown around pumping wells using Theis and Cooper-Jacob methods. Enables students to design and interpret aquifer pumping tests.

Lesson 4 • Groundwater Quality and Contamination

Introduces solute transport, contaminant plumes, and natural attenuation in aquifers. Connects hydraulic analysis to water quality protection and remediation planning.

Lesson 1 • Model Calibration and Validation

Applies manual and automated calibration techniques and objective function selection. Ensures students can rigorously assess model skill and avoid overfitting.

Lesson 2 • Physically Based Distributed Models

Introduces spatially distributed models that solve governing flow equations on grids. Addresses data requirements, computational demands, and application contexts.

Lesson 3 • Watershed Delineation and Characterisation

Uses digital elevation models to delineate watersheds and extract morphometric parameters. Provides the spatial inputs required for all watershed modelling exercises.

Lesson 4 • Conceptual Rainfall-Runoff Models

Examines lumped and semi-distributed conceptual models and their parameter structures. Guides students in selecting model complexity appropriate to data availability.

Lesson 1 • Drought Characterisation and Indices

Defines meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological drought and applies standard indices. Enables consistent drought monitoring and threshold-based early warning.

Lesson 2 • Flood Risk and Damage Assessment

Combines hazard, exposure, and vulnerability to quantify flood risk and expected damages. Supports cost-benefit analysis of flood mitigation investments.

Lesson 3 • Early Warning Systems

Designs threshold-based and model-driven early warning systems for floods and droughts. Integrates real-time data streams with decision protocols for emergency management.

Lesson 4 • Integrated Risk Management Strategies

Evaluates structural and non-structural measures for reducing flood and drought risk. Synthesises hydrological analysis into adaptive water resource management plans.