General information and history
Hydrology (from Greek: Yδωρ, hudōr, “water”; and λόγος, logos, “study”) is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, and thus addresses both the hydrologic cycle and water resources. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist, working within the fields of either earth or environmental science, physical geography or civil and environmental engineering.
Domains of hydrology include hydrometeorology, surface hydrology, hydrogeology, drainage basin management and water quality, where water plays the central role. Oceanography and meteorology are not included because water is only one of many important aspects.
Hydrological research is useful in that it allows us to better understand the world in which we live, and also provides insight for environmental engineering, policy and planning.
Surface-water hydrology
Surface water hydrology is a field that encompasses all surface waters of the globe (overland flows, rivers, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, oceans, etc). This is a subset of the hydrologic cycle that does not include atmospheric, and ground waters. Surface water hydrology relates the dynamics of flow in surface water systems (rivers, canals, streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, marshes, arroyos, oceans, etc.). This includes the field measurement of flow (discharge); the statistical variability at each setting; floods; drought susceptibility and the development of the levels of risk; and the fluid mechanics of surface waters.
In-depth analysis of surface water components of the hydrologic cycle: hydrometeorology, evaporation/transpiration, rainfall-runoff relationships, open-channel flow, flood hydrology, fluid mechanics, and statistical and probabilistic methods in hydrology. Surface water hydrology includes the relation between rainfall and surface runoff; this relationship is an important aspect of water resources for sewerage (wastewater) or (sewage), drinking water, agriculture (irrigation) environmental protection, and for flood control.
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