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HydraulicDesignManual:GlossaryofHydrologyTerms
Section15:GlossaryofHydrologyTerms
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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