MetTh403 5
MetTh403 5
Once the water reaches a stream it moves towards the oceans in a channelized
form, the process referred to as streamflow or river flow. Streamflow is
expressed as discharge: the volume of water over a defined time period ( m³/s).
A continuous record of streamflow or river discharge is called a hydrograph.
5. It is also assumed that the effective rainfall all occurred during the
height of the storm (i.e. during the period of highest rainfall intensity).
That period of high rainfall intensity becomes the time for the unit
hydrograph.
6. The unit hydrograph is the stormflow that results from one unit of
effective rainfall. To derive this you need to divide the values of
stormflow (i.e. each value on the storm hydrograph) by the amount of
effective rainfall (from step 4) to give the unit hydrograph. This is the
discharge per millimeter of effective rainfall during the time unit.
7. Repeat steps 3-6 for all of the typical hydrographs. Then create an
average unit hydrograph by merging the curves together. This is
achieved by averaging the value of stormflow for each unit of time for
every derived unit hydrograph. It is also possible to derive different unit
hydrographs for different rain durations and intensities.
USING THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH
Antecedent soil moisture is controlled by how long ago the rain has
fallen and how large that event was. API is calculated by taking a weighted
sum of past precipitation values, where each day's rainfall is multiplied by
a decay factor that decreases with time, giving more importance to recent
rain.
Antecedent Precipitation Index for the current day,
Where,
𝐴𝑃𝐼𝑛−1 = API from
the previous day
𝑃𝑛 = Precipitation
on the current day
(mm)
𝑘 = Decay factor (0
< 𝑘< 1)
SOLUTION
STREAM GAUGING
Stage vs discharge
relationship River stage is another term for the water
level or height. Where multiple discharge
measurements have been taken (i.e. repeat
measurements using velocity–area method),
it is possible to draw a relationship between
river stage and discharge: the rating curve.
The rating curve is non-linear, a reflection of
the river bank profile. As the river fills up
between banks it takes a greater volume of
water to change the stage than at low
levels.
STAGE VS DISCHARGE RELATIONSHIP
A weir is basically a dam obstructing the passage of water through the channel
that slows the stream down (or, in some rare cases, speed a stream up) so that
it flows with constant velocity through a known cross-sectional area.
This way a simple measure of stream height through the gauging structure will
give the cross-sectional area. Stream height is normally derived through a
stilling well. But in this case, there is a regular cross-sectional area. Three
styles of weir are shown in the following illustration.
Transit time flowmeter: it measures the time taken for an ultrasonic wave
emitted from a transmitter to reach a receiver on the other side of a river. The
faster the water speed, the greater the deflection of the wave path and the longer
it will take to cross the river. Sound travels at approximately 1,500 m/s in water
(dependent
water purityon and depth) so the
instrumentation used in this type of flow
gauging needs to be extremely precise
and be able to measure in nanoseconds.
This type of flow gauging can be
installed as a permanent device but
needs a width of river greater than 5 m
and becomes unreliable with a high
level of suspended solids. When flow is
zero, the time for the signal T1 to get to
T2 is equal to that required to get from
T2 to T1.
ULTRASONIC FLOW GAUGING
Step 2: The actual flow duration curve is created by plotting the percentage
cumulative frequency on the x-axis against the mid-point of the class interval on
the y-axis. Where two flow duration curves are presented on the same axes they
need to be standardized for direct comparison. To do this the values on the y-axis
(mid-point of class interval) are divided by the average flow for the record length.
This makes the y-axis a percentage of the
average flow. The presentation of a flow duration
curve may be improved by plotting a natural log
transformation of the flow values (y-axis).
Interpreting a flow duration curve
Two contrasting flow duration curves. The dotted
line has a high variability in compared to the
solid line (similar to a catchment with a high
baseflow).
STATISTICS DERIVED FROM A FLOW
DURATION CURVE
ESTIMATION OF MONTHLY FLOWS
FROM RAINFALL
THANK YOU!