HYDROLOGY

The course aims to provide advanced knowledge of hydrology for the estimation, assessment, management, and modelling of surface water and groundwater resources, as well as for the design and evaluation of engineering works related to water management.

The course addresses the main components of the hydrological cycle, including precipitation, evaporation, transpiration, infiltration, flow through saturated and unsaturated porous media, surface runoff, groundwater flow, and river flow. Students are introduced to field methods and mathematical models for measuring and estimating the water fluxes associated with these processes. Particular attention is devoted to the formulation and application of hydrological models, including model calibration, validation, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty assessment. The theoretical concepts are applied to real datasets and case studies concerning water-resource monitoring, rainfall–runoff modelling, flood estimation, and river-basin management.

Practical sessions include hydrological data analysis, GIS applications, numerical calculations, and hydrological modelling using MATLAB, Excel and QGIS.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

- define, explain, and correctly use the terminology and concepts describing the main hydrological processes;
- describe the hydrological cycle and formulate water balances at different spatial and temporal scales;
process and critically evaluate hydrometeorological data;
- estimate precipitation, evapotranspiration, infiltration, surface runoff, groundwater flow, and river discharge;
- apply probability and frequency analysis to estimate the magnitude and return period of hydrological extremes;
- formulate the governing equations of saturated and unsaturated flow, including the Richards equation;
- use hydrological models to estimate quantities of engineering and environmental interest;
- calibrate and validate hydrological models using appropriate performance metrics;
- evaluate parameter sensitivity, equifinality, and the main sources of uncertainty in hydrological predictions;
- analyse river networks and catchment properties using digital elevation models and GIS tools;
- apply basic open-channel flow equations and assess flood hazard and flood-control measures;
- critically read and interpret scientific and technical hydrological literature;

Students should have basic knowledge of:

- differential and integral calculus;
- ordinary differential equations;
- fluid mechanics;
- basic probability and statistics.

Previous experience with MATLAB, programming, or GIS software is useful but not required.

Course contents:

- Introduction to hydrology: hydrological cycle, processes, catchments, observations, and water balance.
- Probability and statistics in hydrology: frequency analysis, return period, hydrological risk, and extreme events.
- Precipitation: formation, variability, measurement, data quality, spatial interpolation, and areal estimation.
- Rainfall extremes: intensity–duration–frequency curves and design rainfall.
- Evaporation and transpiration: energy balance, aerodynamic methods, and Penman–Monteith equation.
- Soil-water balance, plant water uptake, and irrigation requirements.
- Infiltration and unsaturated flow: Horton and Green–Ampt models, Darcy–Buckingham law, soil hydraulic properties, and Richards equation.
- Surface runoff and catchment response: runoff generation, hydrographs, travel times, and unit hydrograph theory.
- Rainfall–runoff modelling: soil-water storage, evapotranspiration, percolation, baseflow, and flow routing.
- Model calibration and validation: objective functions, performance metrics, parameter estimation, and split-sample testing.
- Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis: data, parameter, and structural uncertainty, identifiability, equifinality, and predictive uncertainty.
- River networks and catchment geomorphology: network structure and analysis of digital elevation models.
- Groundwater hydrology: Darcy’s law, aquifers, groundwater-flow equations, wells, and surface water–groundwater interactions.
- Flood estimation and management: design floods, flood risk, reservoirs, detention systems, and structural and non-structural measures.

Practical sessions:

- Hydrological data and water balance.
- Rainfall frequency analysis and estimation of IDF curves.
- Implementation of a continuous rainfall–runoff model.
- Model calibration, validation, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty assessment.
- Catchment delineation and river-network extraction from digital elevation models using QGIS.
- Open-channel flow and flood-management calculations.

Materials distributed through the online moodle platform.

Textbook for further readings: Chow, V. T., Maidment, D. R., & Mays, L. W. (1988). Applied Hydrology. McGraw-Hill.

Oral examination covering the course topics, calculation of hydrological quantities; completion and discussion of practical assignments.

oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

Student assessment is designed to evaluate the following levels of knowledge and understanding:

Grade 28–30 cum laude (30L) Excellent knowledge of the subject, with the ability to apply acquired knowledge and tools deductively to new and previously unseen problems;
Grade 24–27: Good knowledge of the subject, with the ability to apply acquired knowledge and tools to problems similar to those previously addressed;
Grade 18–23: Satisfactory knowledge of the subject, with the ability to apply acquired knowledge and tools to problems similar to those previously addressed, with some conceptual and/or computational inaccuracies.

Lectures;
In-class practical exercises.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Natural capital and environmental quality" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development