Courses
IIO352

IIO352/IIO422 - Hidrología (undergraduate)

👋 Description of the Hydrology undergraduate course at the Universidad de La Frontera (Temuco)

Hydrology course

Hydrology course at undergraduate level

Identification of the course

  • Professional degree: Civil Engineering

  • ID and name: IIO352/IIO422, Hidrología (Hydrology)

  • Type of training: specialised, theoretical and practical

  • Weekly dedication: 4 hrs intra-classroom, 4 hrs extra-classroom

  • Faculty: Faculty of Engineering and Sciences

  • Department: Civil Engineering

  • SCT Credits: 5

  • Required courses: IIO316 Hydraulics, COD558 Basic English

  • Duration: 1 semester (16 weeks)

  • Language: Spanish

Description

This compulsory course studies the occurrence, distribution, and circulation of water on Earth, with particular emphasis on understanding and numerically evaluating the various components of the hydrological cycle, using a catchment as the spatial unit of analysis. It also provides knowledge on the management and exploratory analysis of hydro-meteorological data and an introduction to the use of hydrological models for both water resource management and obtaining current and future values of key hydrological variables.

Professional skills

Design solutions to problems related to the use of water resources in engineering projects, applying solid knowledge of basic sciences and engineering, in compliance with current regulations and project specifications, and using appropriate technological tools, while demonstrating the ability to work in teams, engage in independent learning, and act with social responsibility.

Generic skills

  • Teamwork
  • Social responsibility

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course or module, students should be able to:

  • RA1: Describe the relevant phenomena of the hydrological cycle, incorporating concepts from meteorology.

  • RA2: Characterise basic concepts of precipitation, evaporation, and evapotranspiration for water resource assessment.

  • RA3: Apply numerical methods of hydrological analysis for water resource assessment.

  • RA4: Analyse probabilistically the hydrological variables necessary for planning hydrological and hydraulic projects.

  • RA5: Integrate the dimension of social responsibility associated with engineering challenges into problem-solving.

  • RA6: Self-evaluate their own performance as a member of a work team.

Contents

  1. Introduction and basic concepts: Definition and scope of hydrology. The hydrological cycle and the general equation for hydrological balance. Concept of a catchment and integrated water resource management. Spatial and temporal variability of hydrological processes.

  2. Water in the atmosphere: Basic climatology and atmospheric circulation. Solar radiation. Air temperature, humidity, and water vapor. Precipitation. Interception. Evaporation. Evapotranspiration. Methods for interpolating hydrological variables.

  3. Water in the soil: Flow in porous media. Infiltration. Green-Ampt method. Soil uses and types.

  4. Surface runoff: Hydrological information. Streamflow measurement. Hydrographs. Flow duration curves (FDC). Effective precipitation and direct runoff. Transit time. Precipitation-runoff relationships. Unit hydrograph. Flood routing.

  5. Probabilistic and statistical methods in hydrology: Exploratory data analysis and descriptive statistics. Probabilistic treatment of hydrological information. Frequency and probability functions. Return period. Statistical parameters. Fitting probability distributions. Probability distributions of hydrological variables. Characterization and analysis of droughts and floods. Risk analysis. Design storms.

  6. Introduction to hydrological models: Types of models. Concepts of sensitivity analysis, calibration/optimisation, and uncertainty analysis.

Bibliography

Basic bibliography

Supplementary bibliography

docs