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AnnualExceedanceProbability(AEP)
Theprobabilityofexceedanceinagivenyear.

AnnualFlood
Themaximumpeakdischargeinawateryear.

AnnualFloodSeries
Alistofannualfloods.

AntecedentConditions
Watershedconditionsprevailingpriortoaneventnormallyusedtocharacterizebasinwetness,e.g.,soil
moisture.Alsoreferredtoasinitialconditionsorantecedentmoistureconditions(AMC).

AreaCapacityCurve
Agraphshowingtherelationbetweenthesurfaceareaofthewaterinareservoirandthecorresponding
volume.

Attenuation
Thereductioninthepeakofahydrographresultinginabroad,flathydrograph.

Backwater
Waterbackeduporretardedinitscourseascomparedwithitsnormalornaturalconditionofflow.Instream
gauging,ariseinstageproducedbyatemporaryobstructionsuchasiceorweeds,orbythefloodingofthe
streambelow.Thedifferencebetweentheobservedstageandthatindicatedbythestagedischargerelationis
reportedasbackwater.

Bank
Themarginsofachannel.Banksarecalledrightorleftasviewedfacingdownstream(inthedirectionofthe
flow).

BankStorage
Thewaterabsorbedintothebanksofastreamchannel,whenthestagesriseabovethewatertableinthebank
formations,thenreturnstothechannelaseffluentseepagewhenthestagesfallbelowthewatertable.

BankfullStage
Maximumstageofastreambeforeitoverflowsitsbanks.(seealsofloodstage.)

BaseDischarge(forpeakdischarge)

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BaseDischarge(forpeakdischarge)
IntheUSGSannualreportsonsurfacewatersupply,thedischargeabovewhichpeakdischargedataare
published.Thebasedischargeateachstationisselectedsothatanaverageofabout3peaksayearwillbe
presented.(Seealsopartialdurationfloodseries.)

Baseflow
Thesustainedorfairweatherflowinachannelduetosubsurfacerunoff.Inmoststreams,baseflowis
composedlargelyofgroundwatereffluent.Alsoknownasbaserunoff.

BasicHydrologicData
Includesinventoriesoffeaturesoflandandwaterthatvaryspatially(topographicandgeologicmapsare
examples),andrecordsofprocessesthatvarywithbothplaceandtime.(Recordsofprecipitation,streamflow,
groundwater,andqualityofwateranalysesareexamples.)Basichydrologicinformationisabroadtermthat
includessurveysofthewaterresourcesofparticularareasandastudyoftheirphysicalandrelatedeconomic
processes,interrelations,andmechanisms.

BasicStageFloodSeries
Seepartialdurationfloodseries.

Bifurcation
Thepointwhereastreamchannelsplitsintotwodistinctchannels.

BinomialStatisticalDistribution
Thefrequencydistributionoftheprobabilityofaspecifiednumberofsuccessesinanarbitrarynumberof
repeatedindependentBernoullitrials.AlsocalledBernoullidistribution.

BoundaryCondition
Conditionsattheboundaryofaproblemthatgovernitssolution.Forexample,whensolvingaroutingproblem
foragivenreach,anupstreaminflowboundaryconditionisnecessarytosolvefortheoutflowatthe
downstreamendofthereach.

Calibration
Derivationofasetofmodelparametervaluesthatproducesthebestfittoobserveddata.

CanopyInterception
Precipitationthatfallsonandisstoredintheleavesortrunksofvegetation.Thetermcanrefertoeitherthe
processoravolume.

Channel(watercourse)
Anopenconduiteithernaturallyorartificiallycreatedwhichperiodicallyorcontinuouslycontainsmoving
water,orwhichformsaconnectinglinkbetweentwobodiesofwater.River,creek,run,branch,anabranch,
andtributaryaresomeofthetermsusedtodescribenaturalchannels.Naturalchannelsmaybesingleor
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andtributaryaresomeofthetermsusedtodescribenaturalchannels.Naturalchannelsmaybesingleor
braided.Canalandfloodwayaretermsusedtodescribeartificialchannels.

ChannelStorage
Thevolumeofwateratagiventimeinthechanneloroverthefloodplainofthestreamsinadrainagebasinor
riverreach.Channelstoragecanbelargeduringtheprogressofafloodevent.

ComputationDuration
Theuserdefinedtimewindowusedinhydrologicmodeling.

ComputationInterval
Theuserdefinedtimestepusedbyahydrologicmodelforperformingmathematicalcomputations.For
example,ifthecomputationintervalis15min.andthestartingtimeis1200,hydrographordinateswillbe
computedat1200,1215,1230,1245,andsoon.

ConcentrationTime
Seetimeofconcentration.

Confluence
Thepointatwhichtwodistinctstreamchannelsconverge

ContinuousModel
Amodelthattrackstheperiodsbetweenprecipitationevents,aswellastheeventsthemselves.Seeeventbased
model.

Correlation
Theprocessofestablishingarelationbetweenavariableandoneormorerelatedvariables.Correlationis
simpleifthereisonlyoneindependentvariableandmultiplewhentherearetwoormoreindependent
variables.Forgaugingstationrecords,theusualvariablesaretheshorttermgaugingstationrecordandoneor
morelongtermgaugingstationrecords

Dendritic
Channelpatternofstreamswithtributariesthatbranchtoformatreelikepattern.

DepressionStorage
Thevolumeofwatercontainedinnaturaldepressionsinthelandsurface,suchaspuddles.

DesignFlood
Thefloodthatischosenasthebasisforthedesignofahydraulicstructure.

DesignStorm
Rainfallamountanddistributionintimeandspaceusedtodetermineadesignfloodordesignpeakdischarge 3/16
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Rainfallamountanddistributionintimeandspaceusedtodetermineadesignfloodordesignpeakdischarge

DetentionBasin
Storagefacility,suchasasmallunregulatedreservoir,whichdelaystheconveyanceofwaterdownstream.

Diffusion
Dissipationoftheenergyassociatedwithafloodwaveresultsintheattenuationofthefloodwave.

DirectRunoff
Therunoffenteringstreamchannelspromptlyafterrainfallorsnowmelt.Superimposedonbaserunoff,it
formsthebulkofthehydrographofaflood.Seealsosurfacerunoff.Thetermsbaserunoffanddirectrunoff
aretimeclassificationsofrunoff.Thetermsgroundwaterrunoffandsurfacerunoffareclassifications
accordingtosource.

Discharge
Thevolumeofwaterthatpassesthroughagivencrosssectionperunittimecommonlymeasuredincubicfeet
persecond(cfs)orcubicmeterspersecond(m3/s).Alsoreferredtoasflow.
Initssimplestconceptdischargemeansoutflowtherefore,theuseofthistermisnotrestrictedastocourseor
location,anditcanbeappliedtodescribetheflowofwaterfromapipeorfromadrainagebasin.Ifthe
dischargeoccursinsomecourseorchannel,itiscorrecttospeakofthedischargeofacanalorofariver.Itis
alsocorrecttospeakofthedischargeofacanalorstreamintoalake,astream,oranocean.(Seealso
streamflowandrunoff.)
DischargedatainUSGSreportsonsurfacewaterrepresentthetotalfluidsmeasured.Thus,theterms
discharge,streamflow,andrunoffrepresentwaterwithsedimentanddissolvedsolids.Oftheseterms,
dischargeisthemostcomprehensive.Thedischargeofdrainagebasinsisdistinguishedasfollows:
Yield:Totalwaterrunoutincludesrunoffplusunderflow.
Runoff:Thatpartofwateryieldthatappearsinstreams.
Streamflow:Theactualflowinstreams,whetherornotsubjecttoregulation,orunderflow.
Eachofthesetermscanbereportedintotalvolumesortimerates.Thedifferentiationbetweenrunoffasa
volumeandstreamflowasarateisnotaccepted.

DischargeRatingCurve
Seestagedischargerelation.

DistributionGraph(distributionhydrograph)
Aunithydrographofdirectrunoffmodifiedtoshowtheproportionsofthevolumeofrunoffthatoccursduring
successiveequalunitsoftime.

Diversion
Thetakingofwaterfromastreamorotherbodyofwaterintoacanal,pipe,orotherconduit.
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Thetakingofwaterfromastreamorotherbodyofwaterintoacanal,pipe,orotherconduit.

DrainageArea
Thedrainageareaofastreamataspecifiedlocationisthatarea,measuredinahorizontalplane,whichis
enclosedbyadrainagedivide.

DrainageDivide
Therimofadrainagebasin.(Seewatershed.)

DurationCurve
Seeflowdurationcurveforonetype.

ET
Seeevapotranspiration.

EffectivePrecipitation(rainfall)
1.Thatpartoftheprecipitationthatproducesrunoff.
2.Aweightedaverageofcurrentandantecedentprecipitationthatis"effective"incorrelatingwithrunoff.

Evaporation
Theprocessbywhichwaterischangedfromtheliquidorthesolidstateintothevaporstate.Inhydrology,
evaporationisvaporizationandsublimationthattakesplaceatatemperaturebelowtheboilingpoint.Ina
generalsense,evaporationisoftenusedinterchangeablywithevapotranspirationorET.

EvaporationDemand
Themaximumpotentialevaporationgenerallydeterminedusinganevaporationpan.Forexample,ifthereis
sufficientwaterinthecombinationofcanopyandsurfacestorage,andinthesoilprofile,theactualevaporation
willequaltheevaporationdemand.Asoilwaterretentioncurvedescribestherelationshipbetweenevaporation
demandandactualevaporationwhenthedemandisgreaterthanavailablewater.Seetensionzone.

EvaporationPan
Anopentankusedtocontainwaterformeasuringtheamountofevaporation.TheUSNationalWeather
ServiceclassApanis4ftindiameter,10in.deep,setuponatimbergrillagesothatthetoprimisabout16in.
fromtheground.Thewaterlevelinthepanduringthecourseofobservationismaintainedbetween2and3in.
belowtherim.

Evaporation,Total
Thesumofwaterlostfromagivenlandareaduringanyspecifictimebytranspirationfromvegetationand
buildingofplanttissuebyevaporationfromwatersurfaces,moistsoil,andsnowandbyinterception.Ithas
beenvariouslytermedevaporation,evaporationfromlandareas,evapotranspiration,totalloss,waterlosses,
andflyoff.

Evapotranspiration

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Evapotranspiration
Waterwithdrawnfromalandareabyevaporationfromwatersurfacesandmoistsoilsandplanttranspiration.

EventBasedModel
Amodelthatsimulatessomehydrologicresponsetoaprecipitationevent.Seecontinuousmodel.

ExceedanceProbability
Hydrologically,theprobabilitythataneventselectedatrandomwillexceedaspecifiedmagnitude.

ExcessPrecipitation
Theprecipitationinexcessofinfiltrationcapacity,evaporation,transpiration,andotherlosses.Alsoreferredto
aseffectiveprecipitation.

ExcessiveRainfall
Seerainfall,excessive.

FallingLimb
Theportionofahydrographwhererunoffisdecreasing.

FieldCapacity
Thequantityofwaterwhichcanbepermanentlyretainedinthesoilinoppositiontothedownwardpullof
gravity.Alsoknownasfieldmoisturecapacity.

FieldMoistureDeficiency
Thequantityofwaterwhichwouldberequiredtorestorethesoilmoisturetofieldmoisturecapacity.

Flood
Anoverfloworinundationthatcomesfromariverorotherbodyofwater,andcausesorthreatensdamage.
Anyrelativelyhighstreamflowovertoppingthenaturalorartificialbanksinanyreachofastream.Arelatively
highflowasmeasuredbyeithergaugeheightordischargequantity.Asitrelatestohighwaydrainagedesign
forTxDOT,andforthepurposesofthismanual,anydirectrunofffromprecipitationnotlimitedtoanoutof
banksevent.

FloodCrest
Seefloodpeak.

FloodEvent
Seefloodwave.

FloodPeak

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FloodPeak
Thehighestvalueofthestageordischargeattainedbyafloodthus,peakstageorpeakdischarge.Floodcrest
hasnearlythesamemeaning,butsinceitconnotesthetopofthefloodwave,itisproperlyusedonlyin
referringtostagethus,creststage,butnotcrestdischarge.

Floodplain
Astripofrelativelyflatlandborderingastream,builtofsedimentcarriedbythestreamanddroppedinthe
slackwaterbeyondtheinfluenceoftheswiftestcurrent.Itiscalledalivingfloodplainifitisoverflowedin
timesofhighwaterbutafossilfloodplainifitisbeyondthereachofthehighestflood.Thelowlandthat
bordersariver,usuallydrybutsubjecttoflooding.Thatlandoutsideofastreamchanneldescribedbythe
perimeterofthemaximumprobableflood.

FloodProfile
Agraphofelevationofthewatersurfaceofariverinflood,plottedasordinate,againstdistance,measuredin
thedownstreamdirection,plottedasabscissa.Afloodprofilemaybedrawntoshowelevationatagiventime,
crestsduringaparticularflood,ortoshowstagesofconcordantflows.

FloodRouting
Theprocessofprogressivelydeterminingthetimingandshapeofafloodwaveatsuccessivepointsalonga
river.

FloodStage
Thegaugeheightofthelowestbankofthereachinwhichthegaugeissituated.Theterm"lowestbank"is,
however,nottobetakentomeananunusuallylowplaceorbreakinthenaturalbankthroughwhichthewater
inundatesanunimportantandsmallarea.Thestageatwhichoverflowofthenaturalbanksofastreambegins
tooccur.Seealsobankfullstage.

FloodWave
Adistinctriseinstageculminatinginacrestandfollowedbyrecessiontolowerstages.

Flood,MaximumProbable
Thefloodmagnitudethatmaybeexpectedfromthemostcriticalcombinationofmeteorologicandhydrologic
conditionsreasonablypossibleforagivenwatershed.

FloodFrequencyCurve
1.Agraphshowingthenumberoftimesperyearontheaverage,plottedasabscissa,thatfloodsofmagnitude,
indicatedbytheordinate,areequaledorexceeded.
2.Asimilargraphbutwithrecurrenceintervalsoffloodsplottedasabscissa.

Floodway

Apartofthefloodplainotherwiseleveed,reservedforemergencydiversionofwaterduringfloods.Apartof 7/16
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Apartofthefloodplainotherwiseleveed,reservedforemergencydiversionofwaterduringfloods.Apartof
thefloodplainwhich,tofacilitatethepassageoffloodwater,iskeptclearofencumbrances.
Thechannelofariverorstreamandthosepartsofthefloodplainsadjoiningthechannelwhicharereasonably
requiredtocarryanddischargethefloodwaterorfloodflowofanyriverorstream.

FlowDurationCurve
Acumulativefrequencycurvethatshowsthepercentageoftimethatspecifieddischargesareequaledor
exceeded.

GaugingStation
Aparticularsiteonastream,canal,lake,orreservoirwheresystematicobservationsofgaugeheightor
dischargeareobtained.(Seealsostreamgaugingstation.)

GroundWater
Waterinthegroundthatisinthezoneofsaturation,fromwhichwells,springs,andgroundwaterrunoffare
supplied.

GroundwaterOutflow
Thatpartofthedischargefromadrainagebasinthatoccursthroughthegroundwater.Theterm"underflow"is
oftenusedtodescribethegroundwateroutflowthattakesplaceinvalleyalluvium(insteadofthesurface
channel)andthusisnotmeasuredatagaugingstation.

GroundwaterRunoff
Thatpartoftherunoffthathaspassedintotheground,hasbecomegroundwater,andhasbeendischargedinto
astreamchannelasspringorseepagewater.Seealsobaserunoffanddirectrunoff.

HydraulicRadius
Theflowareaofachannelcrosssectiondividedbythewettedperimeter.Thewettedperimeterdoesnot
includethefreesurface.

Hydrograph
Agraphshowingstage,flow,velocity,orotherpropertyofwaterwithrespecttotime.

HydrologicBudget
Anaccountingoftheinflowto,outflowfrom,andstorageinahydrologicunit,suchasadrainagebasin,
aquifer,soilzone,lake,reservoir,orirrigationproject.

HydrologicCycle
Thecontinuousprocessofwatermovementbetweentheoceans,atmosphere,andland.

Hydrology
Thestudyofwatergenerallyfocusesonthedistributionofwaterandinteractionwiththelandsurfaceand
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Thestudyofwatergenerallyfocusesonthedistributionofwaterandinteractionwiththelandsurfaceand
underlyingsoilsandrocks.

Hyetograph
Aplotofrainfallintensityversustimeoftenrepresentedbyabargraph.

IndexPrecipitation
Anindexthatcanbeusedtoadjustforbiasinregionalprecipitation,oftenquantifiedastheexpectedannual
precipitation.

Infiltration
Themovementofwaterfromthelandsurfaceintothesoil.

InfiltrationCapacity
Themaximumrateatwhichthesoil,wheninagivencondition,canabsorbfallingrainormeltingsnow.

InfiltrationIndex
Anaveragerateofinfiltration,ininchesperhour,equaltotheaveragerateofrainfallsuchthatthevolumeof
rainfallatgreaterratesequalsthetotaldirectrunoff.

InflectionPoint
Generallyrefersthepointonahydrographseparatingthefallinglimbfromtherecessioncurveanypointon
thehydrographwherethecurvechangesconcavity.

InitialCondition
Theconditionsprevailingpriortoanevent.Referalsotoantecedentconditions.

Interception
Thecaptureofprecipitationabovethegroundsurface(e.g.,byvegetationorbuildings).

IsohyetalLine
Alinedrawnonamaporchartjoiningpointsthatreceivethesameamountofprecipitation.

Lag
Variouslydefinedastimefrombeginning(orcenterofmass)ofrainfalltopeak(orcenterofmass)ofarunoff
hydrograph.

LagTime
Thetimefromthecenterofmassofexcessrainfalltothehydrographpeak.Alsoreferredtoasbasinlag.

Loss

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Loss
Thedifferencebetweenthevolumeofrainfallandthevolumeofrunoff.Lossesincludewaterabsorbedby
infiltration,waterstoredinsurfacedepressions,andwaterinterceptedbyvegetation.

MassCurve
Agraphofthecumulativevaluesofahydrologicquantity(suchasprecipitationorrunoff),generallyas
ordinate,plottedagainsttimeordateasabscissa.(Seedoublemasscurveandresidualmasscurve.)

MaximumProbableFlood
Seeflood,maximumprobable.

Meander
Thewindingofastreamchannel.

Model
Aphysicalormathematicalrepresentationofaprocessthatcanbeusedtopredictsomeaspectoftheprocess.

Moisture
Waterdiffusedintheatmosphereortheground.

ObjectiveFunction
Amathematicalexpressionthatallowscomparisonbetweenacalculatedresultandaspecifiedgoal.Formodel
calibration,theobjectivefunctioncomparescalculateddischargewithobserveddischarge.

OverlandFlow
Theshallowflowofwateroverthelandsurfacebeforecombiningwithadditionalflowtobecomechannel
flow.

Parameter
Avariable,inageneralmodel,whosevalueisadjustedtomakethemodelspecifictoagivensituation.A
numericalmeasureofthepropertiesoftherealworldsystem.

ParameterEstimation
Theselectionofaparametervaluebasedontheresultsofanalysisand/orengineeringjudgment.Analysis
techniquesincludecalibration,regionalanalysis,estimatingequations,andphysicallybasedmethods.Refer
alsotocalibration.

PartialDurationFloodSeries
Alistofallfloodpeaksthatexceedachosenbasestageordischarge,regardlessofthenumberofpeaks
occurringinayear.(Alsocalledbasicstagefloodseries,orfloodsaboveabase.)

PeakFlow

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PeakFlow
Thepointofthehydrographthathasthehighestflow.

PeakStage
Thehighestelevationreachedbyafloodwave.Alsoreferredtoasthecrest.

Percolation
Themovement,underhydrostaticpressure,ofwaterthroughtheintersticesofarockorsoil.

PMF
Probablemaximumfloodseeflood,probablemaximum.

Precipitation
Asusedinhydrology,precipitationisthedischargeofwater,inliquidorsolidstate,outoftheatmosphere,
generallyuponalandorwatersurface.Itisthecommonprocessbywhichatmosphericwaterbecomessurface
orsubsurfacewater.Thetermprecipitationisalsocommonlyusedtodesignatethequantityofwaterthatis
precipitated.Precipitationincludesrainfall,snow,hail,andsleet,andisthereforeamoregeneraltermthan
rainfall.

Precipitation,ProbableMaximum
Theoreticallythegreatestdepthofprecipitationforagivendurationthatisphysicallypossibleoveragiven
sizestormareaataparticulargeographicallocationatacertaintimeoftheyear.

ProbabilityofCapacityExceedance
Thelikelihoodofthedesignflowrate(orvolumeofwaterwithspecifiedduration)ofahydraulicstructure
beingexceededinagivenyear.

ProbabilityofExceedance
Thelikelihoodofaspecifiedflowrate(orvolumeofwaterwithspecifiedduration)beingexceededinagiven
year.

Rain
Liquidprecipitation.

Rainfall
Thequantityofwaterthatfallsasrainonly.Notsynonymouswithprecipitation.

RainfallExcess
Thevolumeofrainfallavailablefordirectrunoff.Itisequaltothetotalrainfallminusinterception,depression
storage,andabsorption.

RatingCurve

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RatingCurve
Therelationshipbetweenstageanddischarge.

Reach
Asegmentofastreamchannel.

RecessionCurve
Theportionofthehydrographwhererunoffispredominantlyproducedfrombasinstorage(subsurfaceand
smalllanddepressions)itisseparatedfromthefallinglimbofthehydrographbyaninflectionpoint.

RecurrenceInterval(returnperiod)
Theaverageintervaloftimewithinwhichthegivenfloodwillbeequaledorexceededonce.Whenthe
recurrenceintervalisexpressedinyears,itisthereciprocaloftheannualexceedanceprobability(AEP).

Regulation,Regulated
Theartificialmanipulationoftheflowofastream.

Reservoir
Apond,lake,orbasin,eithernaturalorartificial,forthestorage,regulation,andcontrolofwater.

ResidualMassCurve
Agraphofthecumulativedeparturesfromagivenreferencesuchasthearithmeticaverage,generallyas
ordinate,plottedagainsttimeordate,asabscissa.(Seemasscurve.)

RetentionBasin
Similartodetentionbasinbutwaterinstorageispermanentlyobstructedfromflowingdownstream.

RisingLimb
Portionofthehydrographwhererunoffisincreasing.

Runoff
Precipitationonthegroundthatisnotcapturedbyevaporation,infiltration,interception,orsurfacestorage.

SaturationZone
Theportionofthesoilprofilewhereavailablewaterstorageiscompletelyfilled.Theboundarybetweenthe
vadosezoneandthesaturationzoneiscalledthewatertable.Notethatundercertainperiodsofinfiltration,the
uppermostlayersofthesoilprofilecanbesaturated.Seevadosezone.

NRCSCurveNumber
Anempiricallyderivedrelationshipbetweenlocation,soiltype,landuse,antecedentmoistureconditions,and12/16
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Anempiricallyderivedrelationshipbetweenlocation,soiltype,landuse,antecedentmoistureconditions,and
runoff.ANaturalResourcesConservationService(NRCS)curvenumberisusedinaneventbasedmodelto
establishtheinitialsoilmoistureconditionandtheinfiltration.

Snow
Aformofprecipitationcomposedoficecrystals.

SoilMoistureAccounting(SMA)
Amodelingprocessthataccountsforcontinuousfluxestoandfromthesoilprofile.Modelscanbeevent
basedorcontinuous.Whenusingacontinuoussimulation,asoilmoistureaccountingmethodisusedto
accountforchangesinsoilmoisturebetweenprecipitationevents.

SoilMoisture(soilwater)
Waterdiffusedinthesoil,theupperpartofthezoneofaerationfromwhichwaterisdischargedbythe
transpirationofplantsorbysoilevaporation.Seefieldmoisturecapacityandfieldmoisturedeficiency.

SoilProfile
Adescriptionoftheuppermostlayersofthegrounddowntobedrock.Inahydrologiccontext,theportionof
thegroundsubjecttoinfiltration,evaporation,andpercolationfluxes.

Stage
Theheightofawatersurfaceinrelationtoadatum.

StageCapacityCurve
Agraphshowingtherelationbetweenthesurfaceelevationofthewaterinareservoirusuallyplottedas
ordinate,againstthevolumebelowthatelevationplottedasabscissa.

StageDischargeCurve(ratingcurve)
Agraphshowingtherelationbetweenthewaterheight,usuallyplottedasordinate,andtheamountofwater
flowinginachannel,expressedasvolumeperunitoftime,plottedasabscissa.

StageDischargeRelation
Therelationexpressedbythestagedischargecurve.

Stemflow
Rainfallorsnowmeltledtothegrounddownthetrunksorstemsofplants.

Storage
1.Waterartificiallyornaturallyimpoundedinsurfaceorundergroundreservoirs.Thetermregulationrefersto
theactionofthisstorageinmodifyingdownstreamstreamflow.
2.Waternaturallydetainedinadrainagebasin,suchasgroundwater,channelstorage,anddepressionstorage.13/16
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2.Waternaturallydetainedinadrainagebasin,suchasgroundwater,channelstorage,anddepressionstorage.
Thetermdrainagebasinstorageorsimplybasinstorageissometimesusedtorefercollectivelytotheamount
ofwaterinnaturalstorageinadrainagebasin.

Storm
Adisturbanceoftheordinaryaverageconditionsoftheatmospherewhich,unlessspecificallyqualified,may
includeanyorallmeteorologicaldisturbances,suchaswind,rain,snow,hail,orthunder.

Stream
Ageneraltermforabodyofflowingwater.Inhydrologythetermisgenerallyappliedtothewaterflowingin
anaturalchannelasdistinctfromacanal.Moregenerally,asinthetermstreamgauging,itisappliedtothe
waterflowinginanychannel,naturalorartificial.

StreamGauging
Theprocessofmeasuringthedepths,areas,velocities,andratesofflowinnaturalorartificialchannels.

Streamflow
Thedischargethatoccursinanaturalchannel.Althoughthetermdischargecanbeappliedtotheflowofa
canal,thewordstreamflowuniquelydescribesthedischargeinasurfacestreamcourse.Thetermstreamflow
ismoregeneralthanrunoff,asstreamflowmaybeappliedtodischargewhetherornotitisaffectedby
diversionorregulation.

StreamGaugingStation
Agaugingstationwherearecordofdischargeofastreamisobtained.WithintheUSGSthistermisusedonly
forthosegaugingstationswhereacontinuousrecordofdischargeisobtained.

Sublimation
Theprocessoftransformationdirectlybetweenasolidandagas.

SurfaceRunoff
Thatpartoftherunoffthattravelsoverthesoilsurfacetotheneareststreamchannel.Itisalsodefinedasthat
partoftherunoffofadrainagebasinthathasnotpassedbeneaththesurfacesinceprecipitation.Thetermis
misusedwhenappliedinthesenseofdirectrunoff.Seealsorunoff,overlandflow,directrunoff,groundwater
runoff,andsurfacewater.

SurfaceWater
Wateronthesurfaceoftheearth.

TensionZone
InthecontextofHECHMS,theportionofthesoilprofilethatwilllosewateronlytoevapotranspiration.This
designationallowsmodelingwaterheldintheintersticesofthesoil.Seesoilprofile.

TimeofConcentration

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TimeofConcentration
Thetraveltimefromthehydraulicallyfurthermostpointinawatershedtotheoutlet.Alsodefinedasthetime
fromtheendofrainfallexcesstotheinflectionpointontherecessioncurve.

TimeofRise
Thetimefromthestartofrainfallexcesstothepeakofthehydrograph.

TimetoPeak
Thetimefromthecenterofmassoftherainfallexcesstothepeakofthehydrograph.Referalsotolagtime

TR20
ComputerprogramdevelopedbytheNRCSthatprovidesahydrologicanalysisofawatershedunderpresent
conditions.Outputconsistsofpeaksand/orfloodhydrographs.Subareasurfacerunoffhydrographsare
developedfromstormrainfallusingthedimensionlessunithydrograph,drainageareas,timesofconcentration,
andNRCSrunoffcurvenumbers.Instructionstodevelop,route,add,store,divert,ordividehydrographsare
establishedtoconveyfloodwaterfromtheheadwaterstothewatershedoutlet.

TR55
UrbanHydrologyforSmallWatershedTechnicalRelease55publishedbytheNRCS.TechnicalRelease55
(TR55)presentssimplifiedprocedurestocalculatestormrunoffvolume,peakrateofdischarge,hydrographs,
andstoragevolumesrequiredforfloodwaterreservoirs.Theseproceduresareapplicabletosmallwatersheds,
especiallyurbanizingwatersheds,intheUnitedStates.

Transpiration
Thequantityofwaterabsorbedandtranspiredanduseddirectlyinthebuildingofplanttissue,inaspecified
time.Itdoesnotincludesoilevaporation.Theprocessbywhichwatervaporescapesfromthelivingplant,
principallytheleaves,andenterstheatmosphere.

Underflow
Thedownstreamflowofwaterthroughthepermeabledepositsthatunderlieastreamandthataremoreorless
limitedbyrocksoflowpermeability.

UnitHydrograph
Adirectrunoffhydrographproducedby1unitofexcessprecipitationoveraspecifiedduration.Forexample,a
1hourunithydrographisthedirectrunofffromoneunitofexcessprecipitationoccurringuniformlyoverone
hour.

VadoseZone
Theportionofthesoilprofileabovethesaturationzone.

WaterYear
InUSGSreportsdealingwithsurfacewatersupply,the12monthperiod,October1throughSeptember30.
http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdotmanuals/hyd/glossary_of_hydrology_terms.htm

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HydraulicDesignManual:GlossaryofHydrologyTerms

InUSGSreportsdealingwithsurfacewatersupply,the12monthperiod,October1throughSeptember30.
Thewateryearisdesignatedbythecalendaryearinwhichitendsandwhichincludes9ofthe12months.
Thus,theyearendedSeptember30,1959,iscalledthe1959wateryear.

Watershed
Anareacharacterizedbyalldirectrunoffbeingconveyedtothesameoutlet.Similartermsincludebasin,
drainagebasin,catchment,andcatchbasin.
Apartofthesurfaceoftheearththatisoccupiedbyadrainagesystem,whichconsistsofasurfacestreamora
bodyofimpoundedsurfacewatertogetherwithalltributarysurfacestreamsandbodiesofimpoundedsurface
water.

WinTR55
AMSWindowsbasedcomputerprogramdevelopedbyNRCS.WinTR55usestheprocedurespresentedin
TR20asthedrivingengineformoreaccurateanalysisofthehydrologyofthesmallwatershedsystembeing
studied.

http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdotmanuals/hyd/glossary_of_hydrology_terms.htm

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