WATER RESOURCES

ENGINEERING
Water cycle
Water cycle
 Water cycle
The water cycle, also known
as the hydrologic cycle or
the H2O cycle, describes the
continuous movement of water
on, above and below the
surface of the Earth.
 Water cycle

 The mass water on Earth remains

fairly constant over time but the
partitioning of the water into the
major reservoirs of ice, fresh
water , saline water and
atmospheric water is variable
depending on a wide range of
climatic variables.
• The water moves from one reservoir to
another, such as from river to ocean ,
or from the ocean to the atmosphere,
by the physical processes of
evaporation, condensation,
precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and
subsurface flow.
• In so doing, the water goes
through different: liquid, solid
(ice), and gas (vapor).
The water cycle involves the
exchange of energy, which leads
to temperature changes.
For instance, when water
evaporates, it takes up
energy from its
surroundings and cools the
environment.
 When it condenses, it releases energy
and warms the environment
 These heat exchange influence
climate.
 The evaporative phase of the cycle
purifies water which then replenishes
the land with freshwater.
 The flow of liquid water and ice
transports minerals across the globe.
 It is also involved in reshaping the
geological features of the earth,
through processes including
erosion and sedimentation.
The water cycle is also
essential for the maintenance
of most life and ecosystems
on the planet.
The Sun, which drives the
water cycle, heats water in
oceans and seas.
Water evaporates as water
vapor into the air .
 Ice and snow can sublimate
directly into water vapor.
Evapotranspiration is water
transpired from plants and
evaporated from the soil.
Rising air currents take the
vapor up into the atmosphere
where cooler temperatures
cause it to condense into
clouds.
Air currents move water
vapor around the globe, cloud
particles collide, grow, and
fall out of the upper
atmospheric layers
as precipitation.
Some precipitation falls as
snow or hail, sleet, and can
accumulate as ice caps and
glaciers, which can store
frozen water for thousands of
years.
Most water falls back into the
oceans or onto land as rain,
where the water flows over
the ground as surface runoff.
 A portion of runoff enters rivers in
valleys in the landscape, with
stream flow moving water towards
the oceans.
 Runoff and water emerging from
the ground (groundwater) may be
stored as freshwater in lakes.
 Not all runoff flows into rivers,
much of it soaks into the ground as
infiltration.
 Some water infiltrates deep into the
ground and replenishes aquifers ,
which can store freshwater for long
periods of time.
 Some infiltration stays close to the
land surface and can seep back into
surface-water bodies (and the
ocean) as groundwater discharge.
 Some groundwater finds openings
in the land surface and comes out
as freshwater springs.
 In river valleys and flood-plains
there is often continuous water
exchange between surface water
and ground water in the
hypothetic zone .
 Over time, the water returns to the
ocean, to continue the water cycle.
Processes
precipitation
 precipitation

 In meteorology , precipitation
(also known as one of the classes
of hydrometeors, which are
atmospheric water phenomena) is
any product of the condensation of
atmospheric water vapor that falls
under gravity.
 precipitation

 The main forms of precipitation

include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow,
graupel and hail. .
 Precipitation occurs when a local
portion of the atmosphere becomes
saturated with water vapour, so that
the water condenses and
"precipitates".
 precipitation

Condensed water vapor that

falls to the Earth's surface .
 Most precipitation occurs as
rain, but also includes snow,
hail, fog, drip, graupel and
sleet.
 precipitation

Approximately 505,000
km3 (121,000 cu mi) of water
falls as precipitation each year,
398,000 km (95,000 cu mi) of
3

it over the oceans.

 precipitation

The rain on land contains

107,000 km3 (26,000 cu mi) of
water per year and a snowing
only 1,000 km (240 cu mi).
3
precipitation
Interception
 Interception
Interception refers
to precipitation that does not
reach the soil, but is instead
intercepted by the leaves and
branches of plants and the
forest floor.
 Interception

It occurs in the canopy (i.e. canopy

interception), and in the forest floor or
litter layer (i.e. forest floor
interception..
 Interception

 Because of evaporation ,
interception of liquid water
generally leads to loss of that
precipitation for the drainage
basin , except for cases such as fog
interception.
 Interception

Canopy interception
The precipitation that is
intercepted by plant foliage,
eventually evaporates back to
the atmosphere rather than
falling to the ground.
Interception
Interception
snowmelt
 snowmelt
In hydrology , snowmelt is
surface runoff produced from
melting snow.
It can also be used to describe
the period or season during
which such runoff is produced.
 snowmelt

Water produced by snowmelt is

an important part of the annual
water cycle in many parts of the
world, in some cases
contributing high fractions of
the annual runoff in a
watershed.
 snowmelt

Predicting snowmelt runoff

from a drainage basin may be a
part of designing water control
projects.
Rapid snowmelt can cause
flooding .
 snowmelt

If the snowmelt is then frozen,

very dangerous conditions and
accidents can occur, introducing
the need for salt to melt the ice .
The runoff produced by melting
snow.
snowmelt
Surface runoff
 Surface runoff
 Surface runoff is the water flow
that occurs when the soil is
infiltrated to full capacity and
excess water from rain, melt
water , or other sources flows over
the land.
 Surface runoff

This is a major component of

the water cycle , and the
primary agent in water
erosion.
 Surface runoff

 Runoff that occur on surfaces

before reaching a channel is also
called a nonpoint source.
 If a nonpoint source contains man-
made contaminants, the runoff is
called nonpoint source pollution.
 Surface runoff

A land area which produces

runoff that drains to a
common point is called a
drainage basin.
 Surface runoff

 When runoff flows along the ground,

it can pick up soil contaminants
including, but not limited
to petroleum, pesticides or
fertilizers that become discharge or
nonpoint source pollution.
 Surface runoff

The variety of ways by which

water moves across the land.
 This includes both surface
runoff and channel runoff.
 Surface runoff

As it flows, the water may seep

into the ground, evaporate into
the air, become stored in lakes
or reservoirs, or be extracted for
agricultural or other human
uses.
 Surface runoff

 In addition to causing water

erosion and pollution,
surface runoff in urban areas is a
primary cause of urban
flooding which can result in
property damage, damp and mold
in basements, and street flooding.
 Surface runoff

Surface runoff can be generated

either by rainfall or by the
melting of snow, or glaciers.
Surface runoff
Infiltration
 Infiltration
Infiltration is the process by
which water on the ground
surface enters the soil.
Infiltration rate in soil
science is a measure of the rate
at which soil is able to absorb
rainfall or irrigation
 Infiltration

 It is measured in inches per hour or

millimeters per hour.
 The rate decreases as the soil
becomes saturated.
 If the precipitation rate exceeds the
infiltration rate, runoff will usually
occur unless there is
 Infiltration

It is related to the

saturated hydraulic
conductivity of the near-surface
soil.
The rate of infiltration can be
measured using an
infiltrometer
 Infiltration

 The flow of water from the ground

surface into the ground.
 Once infiltrated, the water
becomes soil moisture or
groundwater. Infiltration is
governed by two forces: gravity and
capillary action.
 Infiltration

 While smaller pores offer greater

resistance to gravity, very small
pores pull water through capillary
action in addition to and even
against the force of gravity.
Infiltration
Subsurface flow
 Subsurface flow

Subsurface flow,
in hydrology ,is the flow of
water beneath earth's surface
as part of the water cycle.
 Subsurface flow

In the water cycle,

when precipitation falls on the
earth's land, some of the water
flows on the surface
forming streams and rivers.
 Subsurface flow

 The remaining water,

through infiltration, penetrates the
soil traveling underground,
hydrating the vadose zone
soil, recharging aquifers, with the
excess flowing in subsurface runoff.
 Subsurface flow

• In hydrogeology it is measured by the

Groundwater flow equation.
 The flow of water underground, in
the vadose zone and aquifers.
 Subsurface water may return to the
surface (e.g. as a spring or by being
pumped) or eventually seep into the
oceans.
 Subsurface flow

 Water returns to the land surface at

lower elevation than where it
infiltrated, under the force of gravity or
gravity induced pressures.
 Groundwater tends to move slowly, and
is replenished slowly, so it can remain
in aquifers for thousands of years.
Evaporation
 Evaporation

Evaporation is a type of
vaporization of a liquid that
occurs from the surface of a
liquid into a gaseous phase that
is not saturated with the
evaporating substance face.
 Evaporation

 The other type of vaporization

is boiling, which is characterized by
bubbles of saturated vapor forming in
the liquid phase.
 Steam produced in a boiler is another
example of evaporation occurring in a
saturated vapor phase.
 Evaporation

 Evaporation that occurs directly from

the solid phase below the melting point,
as commonly observed with ice at or
below freezing or moth crystals
(napthalene or paradichlorobenzine), is
called sublimation.
 Evaporation
The transformation of water
from liquid to gas phases as it
moves from the ground or
bodies of water into the
overlying atmosphere.
 Evaporation

 The source of energy for evaporation is

primarily solar radiation.
 Evaporation often implicitly includes
transpiration from plants, though
together they are specifically referred to
as evapotranspiration.
 Evaporation

 Total annual evapotranspiration

amounts to approximately 505,000
km3 (121,000 cu mi) of water,
434,000 km3 (104,000 cu mi) of
which evaporates from the oceans.
Evaporation
Sublimation
 Sublimation

Sublimation is the transition

of a substance directly from
the solid to the gas phase
without passing through an
intermediate liquid face.
 Sublimation

 Sublimation is an endothermic
phase transition that occurs at
temperatures and pressures below
a substance's triple point in its
phase diagram.
 The reverse process of sublimation
is de-sublimation, or deposition.
 Sublimation

 At normal pressures , most chemical

compounds and elements possess
three different states at
different temperatures.
 In these cases, the transition from the
solid to the gaseous state requires an
intermediate liquid state
Sublimation
 Deposition or
de-sublimation
 Deposition,

 Deposition, also known as de-

sublimation, is a thermodynamic
process, a phase transition in
which gas transforms into solid.
 The reverse of deposition
is sublimation.
 Deposition,

One example of deposition is

the process by which, in sub
freezing air, water
vapor changes directly to
ice without first becoming a
liquid .
 Deposition,
This is how snow forms
in clouds, as well as frost
and hoar frost on the ground.
Another example is when frost
forms on a leaf. For deposition
to occur, thermal energy must
be removed from a gas.
 Deposition,

 This refers to changing of water

vapor directly to ice.
 When the leaf becomes cold
enough, water vapor in the air
surrounding the leaf loses enough
thermal energy to change into a
solid.
 Deposition,
 Deposition in water vapor occurs
due to the pureness of the water
vapor.
 The vapor has no foreign particles,
and is therefore able to lose large
amounts of energy before forming
around something.
 Deposition,

 When the leaf is introduced, the

super cooled water vapor
immediately begins to condensate,
but by this point is already past the
freezing point.
 This causes the water vapor to
change directly into a solid.
Deposition,
advection
 advection
 In physics, engineering and earth
sciences, advection is a
transport mechanism of a
substance or conserved property
by a fluid due to the fluid's
bulk motion.
 Advection

An example of advection is the

transport of pollutants or silt in
a river by bulk water flow
downstream.
 Advection

Another commonly advected

quantity is energy or enthalpy.
Here the fluid may be any
material that contains thermal
energy, such as water or air.
 Advection
 In general, any substance or
conserved, extensive quantity can
be advected by a fluid that can
hold or contain the quantity or
substance.
 The movement of water — in
solid, liquid, or vapor states —
through the atmosphere.
 Advection

 Without advection, water that

evaporated over the oceans could
not precipitate over land. In
advection, a fluid transports some
conserved quantity or material via
bulk motion.
 Advection
The fluid's motion is
described mathematically as
a vector field, and the
transported material is
described by a scalar
field showing its distribution
over space.
 Advection

Advection requires currents in

the fluid, and so cannot happen
in rigid solids.
It does not include transport of
substances by molecular
diffusion.
Condensation
 Condensation

 Condensation is the change of the

physical state of matter from gas
phase into liquid phase, and is the
reverse of vaporization.
 It can also be defined as the change
in the state of water vapor to
water/any liquid when in contact
with any surface.
 Condensation

 When the transition happens from

the gaseous phase into the solid
phase directly, the change is
called deposition.
 The transformation of water vapor
to liquid water droplets in the air,
creating clouds and fog.
Condensation
Condensation
Transpiration
 Transpiration

Transpiration is the process

of water movement through
a plant and its evaporation
from aerial parts especially
from leaves but also
from stems and flowers.
 Transpiration

Leaf surfaces are dotted with

pores which are called stomata,
and in most plants they are
more numerous on the
undersides of the foliage.
 Transpiration

The stomata are bordered

by guard cells and their stomatal
accessory cells (together known
as stomatal complex) that open
and close the pore.
 Transpiration
 Transpiration occurs through the
stomata apertures, and can be
thought of as a necessary "cost"
associated with the opening of the
stomata to allow the diffusion
of carbon dioxide gas from the air
for photosynthesis.
 Transpiration

Transpiration also cools plants,

changes osmotic pressure of
cells, and enables mass flow of
mineral nutrients and water
from roots to shoots.
 Transpiration

The release of water vapor from

plants and soil into the air.
Water vapor is a gas that cannot
be seen.
Transpiration
Transpiration
percolation
 percolation

In physics, chemistry and

material science, percolation
(from Lat. percōlāre, to filter or
trickle through) refers to the
movement and filtering of fluids
through porous materials.
 percolation

Water flows horizontally

through the soil and rocks
under the influence
of gravity.
 percolation

 During the last five decades,

percolation theory , an extensive
mathematical model of percolation,
has brought new understanding and
techniques to a broad range of topics
in physics, materials science, complex
networks, epidemiology, and other
fields .
 percolation

 For example, in geology,

percolation refers to filtration of
water through soil and permeable
rocks.
 The water flows to groundwater
storage (aquifers)
percolation
Water resources
engineering
 Water resources engineering

Water resources
engineering is concerned
with the protection,
development, and efficient
management of water
resources for beneficial
purposes.
 Water resources engineering

 It involves planning, design, and

construction of projects for supply of
water for domestic, commercial, public,
and industrial purposes, flood
protection, hydroelectric power, control
of rivers and water runoff, and
conservation of water resources,
including prevention of pollution.
 Water resources engineering

Water resources
engineering primarily deals
with water sources,
collection, flow control,
transmission, storage, and
distribution.
 Water resources engineering

For efficient management of these

aspects, water resources
engineers require a knowledge of
 fluid mechanics;
 hydraulics of pipes, culverts, and open
channels;
 hydrology;
 Water resources engineering

water demand, quality

requirements, and treatment;
production of water from
wells, lakes, rivers, and seas;
 Water resources engineering

• transmission and distribution of

water supplies;
• design of reservoirs and dams;
and
• production of hydroelectric
power.
Density
 Density
 Density ρ is defined as mass per unit
volume and is significant in all flow
problems where acceleration is
important.
 It is obtained by dividing the specific
weight w by the acceleration due to
gravity g.
 Density

 The variation of g with latitude and

altitude is small enough to warrant
the assumption that its value is
constant at 32.2 ft/s2 in hydraulics
computations.
 Density

The specific gravity of a

substance is the ratio of its
density at some temperature to
that of pure water at 68.2 8F
(20 8C).
 Density

 Modulus of elasticity E of a fluid is

defined as the change in pressure
intensity divided by the
corresponding change in volume
per unit volume.
 Its value for water is about
300,000 psi, varying slightly with
temperature.
 Density

 The modulus of elasticity of water

is large enough to permit the
assumption that it is
incompressible for all hydraulics
problems except those involving
water hammer.
Fluid mechanics
 Fluid mechanics describes the
behavior of water under various
static and dynamic conditions.
 This theory, in general, has been
developed for an ideal liquid, a
frictionless, inelastic liquid whose
particles follow smooth flow paths.
 Properties of Fluids

 Specific weight or unit weight w is

defined as weight per unit volume.
• The specific weight of water varies
from 62.42 lb/ft3 at 32 8F to 62.22 lb/ft3
at 80 8F but is commonly taken as 62.4
lb/ft3 for the majority of engineering
calculations.
• The specific weight of sea water is
about 64.0 lb/ft3.
Effects on climate
 Effects on climate

 The water cycle is powered from

solar energy. 86% of the global
evaporation occurs from the
oceans, reducing their
temperature by evaporative
cooling.
 Effects on climate

 Without the cooling, the effect of

evaporation on the greenhouse
effect would lead to a much higher
surface temperature of 67
°C (153 °F), and a warmer planet.
 Effects on climate

 Aquifer drawdown or over drafting

and the pumping of fossil water
increases the total amount of water
in the hydrosphere, and has been
postulated to be a contributor to
sea-level rise.
Carbon dioxide emission
Global warming
 Global warming

Global warming refers to an

unequivocal and continuing rise
in the average temperature of
Earth's climate system.
Since 1971, 90% of the warming
has occurred in the oceans.
 Global warming

Despite the oceans' dominant

role in energy storage, the term
"global warming" is also used to
refer to increases in average
temperature of the air and sea
at Earth's surface.
 Global warming

 Since the early 20th century, the global air

and sea surface temperature has increased
about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F), with about two-thirds
of the increase occurring since 1980.
 Each of the last three decades has been
successively warmer at the Earth’s surface
than any preceding decade since 1850.
 Global warming

 Scientific understanding of the

cause of global warming has been
increasing.
 In its fourth assessment (AR4
2007) of the relevant scientific
literature,
 the International Panel on Climate
Change(IPCC) reported that
scientists were more than 90%
certain that most of global warming
was being caused by increasing
concentrations of greenhouse
gases produced by human
activities.
 Global warming

In 2010 that finding was

recognized by the national
science academies of all major
industrialized nations.
 Global warming

 Affirming these findings in 2013,

IPCC says that the largest driver of
global warming is carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions from fossil fuel
combustion, cement production,
and land use changes such
as deforestation.
 Global warming

 Its 2013 report states

 Human influence has been detected in
warming of the atmosphere and the
ocean, in changes in the global water
cycle, in reductions in snow and ice, in
global mean sea level rise, and in
changes in some climate extremes.
This evidence for human
influence has grown since AR4.
It is extremely likely (95-100%)
that human influence has been
the dominant cause of the
observed warming since the
mid-20th century.
 Climate

 Climate is a measure of the

average pattern of variation in
temperature, humidity, atmospheri
c pressure, wind, precipitation,
atmospheric particle count and
other meteorological variables in a
given region over long periods of
time.
 Global warming

Climate is different
than weather, in that weather
only describes the short-term
conditions of these variables in
a given region.
 Global warming

 A region's climate is generated by

the climate system, which has
five components: atmosphere,
hydrosphere, cry sphere, land
surface, and biosphere.
 Global warming

 The climate of a location is affected by

its latitude, terrain, and altitude, as well
as nearby water bodies and their
currents.
 Climates can be classified according to
the average and the typical ranges of
different variables, most commonly
temperature and precipitation.
 Global warming

 The most commonly used classification

scheme was originally developed
by Wladimir Köppen.
 The Thornthwaite system, in use since
1948, incorporates evapotranspiration
along with temperature and
precipitation information and is used in
studying animal species diversity and
potential effects of climate changes.
 Global warming

The Bergeron and Spatial

Synoptic Classification
systems focus on the origin of
air masses that define the
climate of a region.
 temperature

 A temperature is a numerical
measure of hot and cold. Its
measurement is by detection of
heat radiation or particle velocity or
kinetic energy, or by the bulk
behavior of a thermometric
material.
 Global warming

 It may be calibrated in any of

various temperature scales, Celsius,
Fahrenheit, Kelvin, etc.
 The fundamental physical
definition of temperature is
provided by thermodynamics.
 A map of global long term monthly average
surface air temperatures in Mollweide projection.
Humidity
 Humidity

 Humidity is the amount of water

vapor in the air. Water vapor is the
gaseous state of water and is
invisible.
 Humidity indicates the likelihood
of precipitation, dew, or fog.
 Humidity

 Higher humidity reduces the

effectiveness of sweating in cooling the
body by reducing the rate of
evaporation of moisture from the skin.
 This effect is calculated in a heat
index table or humid index, used
during summer weather.
Tropical forest humidity
 Humidity

 There are three main

measurements of humidity:
absolute, relative and specific.
 Absolute humidity is the water
content of air.
 Relative humidity, expressed as a
percent, measures the current absolute
humidity relative to the maximum for
that temperature.
 Specific humidity is a ratio of the
water vapor content of the mixture to
the total air content on a mass basis.
 Atmospheric pressure

Atmospheric pressure is the

force per unit area exerted on a
surface by the weight of air
above that surface in
the atmosphere of Earth (or that
of another planet).
 Humidity

In most circumstances

atmospheric pressure is closely
approximated by the hydrostatic
pressure caused by the weight
of air above the measurement
point.
 On a given plane, low-pressure
areas have less atmospheric mass
above their location, whereas high-
pressure areas have more
atmospheric mass above their
location.
 Boiling point of water

 Clean fresh water boils at about 100 °C

(212 °F) at earth's standard
atmospheric pressure.
 The boiling point is the temperature at
which the vapor pressure is equal to the
atmospheric pressure around the water.
 Humidity

 Because of this, the boiling point of

water is lower at lower pressure
and higher at higher pressure.
 This is why cooking at elevations
more than 1,100 m (3,600 ft)
above sea level requires
adjustments to recipes.
A rough approximation of
elevation can be obtained by
measuring the temperature at
which water boils; in the mid-
19th century, this method
was used by explorers.
Boiling point of water
 Standard atmospheric pressure

 Standard atmospheric pressure

 The standard atmosphere (symbol:
atm) is a unit of pressure equal to
101325 Pa or 1013.25 millibars
or hectopascals. It is equivalent to
760 mmHg (torr, 29.92 inHg,
14.696 psi.
Humidity
Mean sea level pressure
 Mean sea level pressure

 The mean sea level pressure (MSLP) is

the atmospheric pressure at sea level or
(when measured at a given elevation on
land) the station pressure reduced to
sea level assuming that the temperature
falls at a lapse rate of 6.5 K per km in
the fictive layer of air between the
station and sea level.
 Mean sea level pressure

This is the atmospheric

pressure normally given in
weather reports on radio,
television, and newspapers or
on the Internet.
 When barometers in the home are
set to match the local weather
reports, they measure pressure
reduced to sea level, not the actual
local atmospheric pressure.
See Altimeter (barometer vs.
absolute).
 Mean sea level pressure

The reduction to sea level

means that the normal range
of fluctuations in
atmospheric pressure is the
same for everyone.
The pressures that are
considered high pressure or low
pressure do not depend on
geographical location.
This makes isobars on a weather
map meaningful and useful
tools.
 Mean sea level pressure

 The altimeter setting in aviation,

set either QNH or QFE, is another
atmospheric pressure reduced to
sea level, but the method of making
this reduction differs slightly.
 Mean sea level pressure

 QNH The barometric altimeter

setting that will cause the altimeter
to read airfield elevation when on
the airfield.
 In ISA temperature conditions the
altimeter will read altitude above
mean sea level in the vicinity of the
airfield QFE
 Mean sea level pressure

 The barometric altimeter setting that

will cause an altimeter to read zero
when at the reference datum of a
particular airfield (in general, a runway
threshold).
 In ISA temperature conditions the
altimeter will read height above the
datum in the vicinity of the airfield.
 Mean sea level pressure

 QFE and QNH are arbitrary Q

codes rather than abbreviations,
but the mnemonics "Nautical
Height" (for QNH) and "Field
Elevation" (for QFE) are often used
by pilots to distinguish them.
 Mean sea level pressure

Average sea-level pressure is

101.325 kPa (1013.25 mbar, or
hPa) or 29.92 inches (inHg) or
760 millimetres of mercury
(mmHg).
 Mean sea level pressure

 In aviation weather reports (METAR),

QNH is transmitted around the world
in millibars or hectopascals (1 millibar
= 1 hectopascal), except in the United
States, Canada, and Colombia where it
is reported in inches (to two decimal
places) of mercury.
15 year average mean sea level pressure for June,
July, and August (top) and December, January,
and February (bottom) analysis.
 Mean sea level pressure

 Likewise, as elevation increases,

there is less overlying
atmospheric mass, so that
atmospheric pressure decreases
with increasing elevation.
 Mean sea level pressure

 On average, a column of air one

square centimeter in cross-section,
measured from sea level to the top
of the atmosphere, has a mass of
about 1.03 kg and weight of about
10.1 N (2.28 lbf)
 Mean sea level pressure

(A column one square inch in

cross-section would have a
weight of about 14.7 lbs, or
about 65.4 N).
Wind
 Wind

Wind is the flow of gases on a

large scale.
On the surface of the Earth,
wind consists of the bulk
movement of air.
 Wind

In meteorology, winds are often

referred to according to their
strength, and the direction from
which the wind is blowing.
 Wind

Short bursts of high speed wind

are termed gusts.
Strong winds of intermediate
duration (around one minute)
are termed squalls.
 Wind

 Long-duration winds have

various names associated with
their average strength, such
as breeze, gale, storm,
hurricane, and typhoon.
 Wind

 Wind occurs on a range of scales, from

thunderstorm flows lasting tens of
minutes, to local breezes generated by
heating of land surfaces and lasting a
few hours, to global winds resulting
from the difference in absorption
of solar energy between the climate
zones on Earth.
 Wind

 The two main causes of large-

scale atmospheric circulation are
the differential heating between the
equator and the poles, and the
rotation of the planet (Coriolis
effect).
 Wind

 Within the tropics, thermal low

circulations over terrain and high
plateaus can drive monsoon
circulations.
 In coastal areas the sea breeze land
breeze cycle can define local winds; in
areas that have variable terrain,
mountain and valley breezes can
dominate local winds.
precipitation
 precipitation
 In meteorology, precipitation (also known
as one of the classes of hydrometeors,
which are atmospheric water phenomena) is
any product of the condensation
of atmospheric water vapor that falls under
gravity.
 The main forms of precipitation
include drizzle, rain,
sleet, snow graupel and hail.
 precipitation

Precipitation occurs when a

local portion of the atmosphere
becomes saturated with water
vapor, so that the water
condenses and "precipitates".
 precipitation

Thus, fog and mist are not

precipitation but suspensions,
because the water vapor does
not condense sufficiently to
precipitate.
 precipitation

Two processes, possibly acting

together, can lead to air
becoming saturated: cooling the
air or adding water vapor to the
air.
 precipitation

Generally, precipitation will fall

to the surface; an exception
is virga which evaporates before
reaching the surface.
 precipitation

 Precipitation forms as smaller

droplets coalesce via collision with
other rain drops or ice crystals
within a cloud.
 Rain drops range in size from
oblate, pancake-like shapes for
larger drops, to small spheres for
smaller drops.
 Unlike raindrops, snowflakes grow
in a variety of different shapes and
patterns, determined by
the temperature
and humidity characteristics of the
air the snowflake moves through on
its way to the ground.
 While snow and ice pellets require
temperatures close to the ground to
be near or below freezing, hail can
occur during much warmer
temperature regimes due to the
process of its formation.
 precipitation

Moisture overriding
associated with weather
fronts is an overall major
method of precipitation
production.
 precipitation

 If enough moisture and upward

motion is present, precipitation
falls from convective clouds such
as cumulonimbus and can organize
into narrow rain bands.
 precipitation
 Where relatively warm water
bodies are present, for example due
to water evaporation from
lakes, lake-effect snowfall becomes
a concern downwind of the warm
lakes within the cold cyclonic flow
around the backside of extra
tropical cyclones.
 precipitation

 Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy.

 Thunder snow is possible within a
cyclone's comma head and within lake
effect precipitation bands.
 In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation
is possible where upslope flow is
maximized within windward sides of the
terrain at elevation.
 precipitation

 On the leeward side of mountains,

desert climates can exist due to the dry
air caused by compression heating.
 The movement of the monsoon trough,
or inter tropical convergence zone,
brings rainy seasons
to savannah climes.
 precipitation

 Precipitation is a major component

of the water cycle, and is
responsible for depositing the fresh
water on the planet.
 precipitation

 Approximately 505,000 cubic

kilometers (121,000 cu mi) of water
falls as precipitation each year;
398,000 cubic kilometers
(95,000 cu mi) of it over the oceans
and 107,000 cubic kilometers
(26,000 cu mi) over land.
 precipitation

 Given the Earth’s surface area, that

means the globally averaged annual
precipitation is 990 millimeters
(39 in), but over land it is only 715
millimeters (28.1 in).
 precipitation

 Climate classification systems such

as the Köppen climate classification
system use average annual rainfall
to help differentiate between
differing climate regimes.
 Meteorology is the interdisciplinary
scientific study of the atmosphere .
 Weather is the state of
the atmosphere , to the degree that it is
hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy,
clear or cloudy.
 Most weather phenomena occur in
the troposphere, just below
the stratosphere.
 precipitation

 Weather generally refers to day-to-day

temperature and precipitation activity,
whereas climate is the term for the
average atmospheric conditions over
longer periods of time.
 When used without qualification,
"weather", is understood to mean the
weather of Earth .
 precipitation

 Weather is driven by air pressure

(temperature and moisture) differences
between one place and another.
 These pressure and temperature
differences can occur due to the sun
angle at any particular spot, which
varies by latitude from the tropics.
 precipitation

 The strong temperature contrast

between polar and tropical air gives rise
to the jet stream.
 Weather systems in the mid-latitudes,
such as extra tropical cyclones, are
caused by instabilities of the jet stream
flow.
 precipitation

 Because the Earth's axis is tilted

relative to its orbital plane, sunlight is
incident at different angles at different
times of the year. On Earth's surface,
temperatures usually range ±40 °C
(−40 °F to 100 °F) annually.
 precipitation

 Over thousands of years, changes

in Earth's orbit affect the amount
and distribution of solar energy
received by the Earth and influence
long-term climate and global
climate change.
 precipitation

 Surface temperature differences in

turn cause pressure differences.
 Higher altitudes are cooler than
lower altitudes due to differences in
compression heating.
 precipitation

 Weather forecasting is the application

of science and technology to predict the
state of the atmosphere for a future
time and a given location.
 The atmosphere is a chaotic system, so
small changes to one part of the system
can grow to have large effects on the
system as a whole.
 precipitation

 Human attempts to control the

weather have occurred throughout
human history, and there is
evidence that human activity such
as agriculture and industry has
inadvertently modified weather
patterns.
climate system
 climate system

The atmosphere of Earth is a

layer of gases surrounding the
planet Earth that is retained by
Earth's gravity.
 climate system

 The atmosphere protects life on

Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar
radiation, warming the surface
through heat retention (greenhouse
effect ), and reducing temperature
extremes between
day and night (the diurnal
temperature variation ).
 climate system

 The common name given to the

atmospheric gases used
in breathing and photosynthesis is air.
 By volume, dry air contains
78.09% nitrogen, 20.95%
oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon
dioxide, and small amounts of other
gases.
 climate system

 Air also contains a variable amount

of water vapor, on average around 1%.
 Although air content and atmospheric
pressure vary at different layers, air
suitable for the survival of terrestrial
plants and terrestrial animals
currently is only known to be found in
Earth's troposphere and artificial
atmospheres.
 climate system

 The atmosphere has a mass of about

5.15×1018 kg, three quarters of which is
within about 11 km (6.8 mi; 36,000 ft)
of the surface.
 The atmosphere becomes thinner and
thinner with increasing altitude, with
no definite boundary between the
atmosphere and outer space.
 climate system

The Kármán line, at 100 km

(62 mi), or 1.57% of the Earth's
radius, is often used as the
border between the atmosphere
and outer space.
 climate system

Atmospheric effects become

noticeable during atmospheric
reentry of spacecraft at an
altitude of around 120 km
(75 mi).
 climate system

Several layers can be

distinguished in the
atmosphere, based on
characteristics such as
temperature and
composition.
 climate system

The study of Earth's atmosphere

and its processes is called
atmospheric science or aero logy.
Early pioneers in the field
include Léon Teisserenc de
Bort and Richard Assmann.
Composition of Earth's
atmosphere
 Composition of Earth's atmosphere

 Composition of Earth's atmosphere by

volume.
 The lower pie represents the trace gases
which together compose 0.038% of the
atmosphere.
 The numbers are from a variety of years
(mainly 1987, with CO2 and methane from
2009) and do not represent any single
source.
Top of Atmosphere
 Rayleigh scattering

 Rayleigh scattering is more evident

after sunset.
 This picture was taken about one
hour after sunset at 500m altitude,
looking at the horizon where the
sun had set.
Rayleigh scattering
 laser pointer

 The beam of a 5 m W green laser

pointer is visible at night partly
because of Rayleigh scattering on
various particles and molecules
present in air.
laser pointer
World Climate Map
 Scattered blue light is polarized.
 The picture on the right is shot
through a polarizing
filter which removes light that is
linearly polarized in a specific
direction.
polarized
 Mnemonic

Mnemonic for the basic

composition of dry atmosphere
being 4/5 nitrogen and 1/5
oxygen, with ~1% argon (blue)
along with CO2 and other gases
(purple)
Mnemonic
 precipitation

 In meteorology, precipitation (als

o known as one of the classes of
hydrometeors, which are
atmospheric water phenomena) is
any product of the condensation
of atmospheric water vapor that
falls under gravity.

 precipitation

 The main forms of

precipitation include drizzle,
rain, sleet, snow, graupel
and hail.
 precipitation

Precipitation occurs when a

local portion of the atmosphere
becomes saturated with water
vapor, so that the water
condenses and "precipitates“
 precipitation

 Thus, fog and mist are not

precipitation but suspensions,
because the water vapor does
not condense sufficiently to
precipitate.
 precipitation

Two processes, possibly

acting together, can lead to
air becoming saturated:
cooling the air or adding
water vapor to the air.
 precipitation

 Generally, precipitation will

fall to the surface; an
exception is virga which
evaporates before reaching
the surface.
 precipitation

Precipitation forms as
smaller droplets coalesce via
collision with other rain
drops or ice crystals within
a cloud.
 precipitation

Rain drops range in size from

oblate, pancake-like shapes
for larger drops, to small
spheres for smaller drops.
 precipitation

 Unlike raindrops, snowflakes grow

in a variety of different shapes and
patterns, determined by
the temperature
and humidity characteristics of the
air the snowflake moves through on
its way to the ground.
 precipitation

 While snow and ice pellets require

temperatures close to the ground to
be near or below freezing, hail can
occur during much warmer
temperature regimes due to the
process of its formation.
 precipitation

 Moisture overriding associated

with weather fronts is an overall major
method of precipitation production.
 If enough moisture and upward
motion is present, precipitation falls
from convective clouds such
as cumulonimbus and can organize into
narrow rain bands.
 precipitation

 Where relatively warm water

bodies are present, for example due
to water evaporation from
lakes, lake-effect snowfall becomes
a concern downwind of the warm
lakes within the cold cyclonic flow
around the backside of extra
tropical cyclones.
 precipitation

Lake-effect snowfall can be locally

heavy.
 Thunder snow is possible within a
cyclone's comma head and within
lake effect precipitation bands.
 precipitation

In mountainous areas, heavy

precipitation is possible where
upslope flow is maximized
within windward sides of the
terrain at elevation.
 precipitation

On the leeward side of

mountains, desert climates can
exist due to the dry air caused
by compression heating.
 precipitation

The movement of the monsoon

trough, or inter tropical
convergence zone, brings rainy
seasons to savannah climes.
 precipitation

Precipitation is a major
component of the water cycle,
and is responsible for depositing
the fresh water on the planet.
 precipitation

 Approximately 505,000 cubic

kilometers (121,000 cu mi) of water
falls as precipitation each year;
398,000 cubic kilometers
(95,000 cu mi) of it over
the oceans and 107,000 cubic
kilometers (26,000 cu mi) over
land.
 precipitation

Given the Earth's surface area,

that means the globally
averaged annual precipitation is
990 millimeters (39 in), but
over land it is only 715
millimeters (28.1 in).
 Climate classification systems such
as the Köppen climate classification
system use average annual rainfall
to help differentiate between
differing climate regimes.
Long-term mean precipitation by month
 Wind

Wind is the flow of gases on a

large scale.
On the surface of the Earth,
wind consists of the bulk
movement of air.
 Wind

In outer space, solar wind is the

movement of gases or charged
particles from the sun through
space, while planetary wind is
the out gassing of light chemical
elements from a planet's
atmosphere into space.
 Wind

 Winds are commonly classified by

their spatial scale, their speed, the
types of forces that cause them, the
regions in which they occur, and
their effect.
 The strongest observed winds on a
planet in our solar system occur
on Neptune and Saturn.
 Wind

Wind, from the Tacuinum Sanitatis

A breeze lifts a veil
hydrosphere
 hydrosphere

 The hydrosphere (from Greek ὕδ

ωρ - hydōr, "water"and σφαῖρα -
sphaira, "sphere") in physical
geography describes the combined
mass of water found on, under, and
over the surface of a planet.
 hydrosphere

 Igor Shiklomanov, the man selected

by the United Nations to do its
world inventory of water
resources, estimated that there are
1386 million cubic kilometers of
water on earth.
 hydrosphere

 This includes water in liquid and

frozen forms in ground waters,
glaciers, oceans, lakes and streams.
Saline water account for 97.5% of
this amount.
 Fresh water accounts for only
2.5%.
 hydrosphere

 Of this fresh water 68.7% is in the

"form of ice and permanent snow
cover in the Arctic, the Antarctic,
and in the mountainous regions.
 Next, 29.9% exists as fresh ground
waters.
 hydrosphere

 Only 0.26% of the total amount of

fresh waters on the Earth are
concentrated in lakes, reservoirs
and river systems where they are
most easily accessible for our
economic needs and absolutely
vital for water ecosystems.
 hydrosphere

The total mass of the Earth ‘s

hydrosphere is about 1.4 ×
10 tones, which is about
18

0.023% of the Earth's total

mass.
About 20 × 1012 tones of this is
in the Earth's atmosphere (the
volume of one tone of water is
approximately 1 cubic meter).
 hydrosphere

Approximately 75% of the

Earth's surface an area of some
361 million square kilometers
(139.5 million square miles), is
covered by ocean.
 hydrosphere

The average salinity of the

Earth's oceans is about
35 grams of salt per kilogram of
sea water (3.5%)
cryosphere
 cryosphere

 The cryosphere (from the Greek

κρύος cryos "cold", "frost" or "ice"
andσφαῖρα sphaira, "globe, ball")
 - is those portions of Earth's surface where
water is in solid form, including sea ice, lake
ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice
caps and ice sheets, and frozen ground
(which includes permafrost).
 cryosphere

 Thus, there is a wide overlap with

the hydrosphere.
 The cryosphere is an integral part of
the global climate system with important
linkages and feedbacks generated through
its influence on surface energy and moisture
fluxes, clouds precipitation, hydrology,
atmospheric and oceanic circulation.
 cryosphere

 Through these feedback processes,

the cryosphere plays a significant
role in the global climate and
in climate model response to global
changes.
biosphere
 biosphere

 The biosphere is the global sum

of all ecosystems.
 It can also be termed the zone
of life on Earth, a closed system
(apart from solar and cosmic
radiation and heat from the interior
of the Earth), and largely self-
regulating.
 biosphere

 By the most general bio physiological

definition, the biosphere is the
global ecological system integrating all
living beings and their relationships,
including their interaction with the
elements of the lithosphere ,
hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
 biosphere

 The biosphere is postulated to

have evolved, beginning with a
process of bio poesis (life created
naturally from non-living matter
such as simple organic compounds)
or biogenesis (life created from
living matter), at least some 3.5
billion years ago.
 biosphere

 The earliest evidences for life on

Earth are graphite found to be
biogenic in 3.7 billion-year-old meta
sedimentary rocks discovered in
Western Greenland and microbial
mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-
old sandstone discovered in Western
Australia.
 biosphere

A false-color composite of global oceanic and terrestrial photoautotroph

abundance, from September 1997 to August 2000. Provided by the Sea
WiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and
ORBIMAGE [citation needed
lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.

A familiar scene on Earth which simultaneously shows the

lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere
Climate Change
Impacts on
Water Resources
Potential Impacts of Climate Change

Precipitation timing
Air temperature and quantity

Sea level rise

Runoff timing and

quantity
Floods and Droughts
• Frequency
• Magnitude
• Duration
 Water Supply

-Water Demands
human and vegetation
-Inflows to
Reservoirs
amount and timing

-System Operations
size and timing of
flood control space;
reliability of supplies
 Water Quality

• Drinking WQ
• Environmental WQ
River and lake temperatures
In-stream flow requirements
Climate Change Team
 GOAL
Provide qualitative and
quantitative estimates of
effects of climate change
on water resources.
Provide information that
is relevant to water
resources decision makers
including assessment of
risks.
- Make Climate modelers forecast
possible future climate condition.
-Climate change team assesses
potential impacts that those
climate change scenarios could
have on water resources
 Climate Change Team Work Plan

Select climate
change
scenarios

Investigate local
Investigate water
impacts of sea level
supply impacts of
rise on the area
hydrology changes

Assess combined impacts

of changed hydrology and
sea level rise
 Bookend approach
--A lot warmer and wetter (HadCM2
2010-2039 +1.4°C and +26.4% precip)
– A little bit warmer and drier (PCM
2010-2039 +0.4°C and -2.3% precip)
 Focus on predictions with least
uncertainty
– Increase air temperature only
(1.5°C, 3°C, 5°C)
– Sea level rise
Come up with Initial
Climate Change
Investigations.
Assume that each
bookend or sensitivity
range is equally likely
Preliminary Simulation Results
Bookend Approach
PCM 2010 - 2040 2020
Base Conditions
HCM 2010 – 2039
Largest range during winter
 Climate Change Predictions
 Precipitation
 Air Temperature
 Divergence in trend and
 Magnitude
 Air Temperature
Divergence in trend and
magnitude
Models agree that air
temperature increases, but
vary in the magnitude and
rate of increase
Climate Change Predictions for Northern California Differ

Precipitation
Divergence in trend and
magnitude

Air Temperature
Models agree that air temperature
increases, but vary in the
magnitude and rate of increase
Risk =f(Event, Consequences, Probability)
 Characterizing Climate Change Uncertainty

•Develop/apply techniques for quantifying the

uncertainty in climate change predictions
• Bookend approach
– A lot warmer and wetter
– A little bit warmer and drier
• Focus on predictions with least uncertainty
– Increase air temperature only
– Sea level rise
 Risk Assessment

• The bookend and sensitivity analysis

approaches provide ranges of consequences
for assumed events
• Without assuming probabilities for the
events
– Risk assessment has yet to be conducted
– Management choices have not been
defined
• Uncertainty analysis is needed
 Climate Change Uncertainty Analysis

• Develop monthly sensitivity patterns

for:
– Air temperature
– Precipitation
– Natural runoff
• Watershed scales
 Evaluated at projection milestones
(e.g. 25 years out, 50 years out)
• Account for projection uncertainty:
– Patterns from multiple CO2
increase scenarios and/or multiple
GCMs of each CO2 scenario
 Goals of Climate Change Risk Assessment

• Determine probabilities and

potential impacts of
incremental climate change
on water resources
• Risk information can be used to:
– Develop management plans
– Determine priorities in
resource allocation
– Develop mitigation measures
 • Better information on
climate change projection
uncertainty is needed to
conduct type of risk
assessment