CE 5361 Surface Water Hydrology
Spring 2023 Exercise Set 2
LAST NAME, FIRST NAME
R00000000
Purpose :¶
Synthesize unit-hydrograph concepts from selected readings
Assessment Criteria :¶
Completion, plausible solution, documentation of methods employed.
Notes:¶
This exercise is largely a reading exercise, you will probably benefit from note taking during the readings - the "analysis" portion at the end is for you to self-asses your understanding and synthesis of the readings. You will apply what you read to construct a transfer function (excess P into Q) in Problem 2 then apply your function to a new storm (Problem 3).
Problem 1¶
Critically read in chronological order the following (these links access copies of cited articles):
- Sherman, L. (1932) “Stream Flow from Rainfall by the Unit Graph Method,” Engineering News Record, No. 108, pp. 501-505.
- Lienhard, J. H. (1964), A statistical mechanical prediction of the dimensionless unit hydrograph, J. Geophys. Res., 69(24), pp. 5231–5238
- Lienhard, John. (1972). Prediction of the dimensionless unit hydrograph. Nordic Hydrology. 3. pp. 107-109
- Dooge, JCI (1973) Linear theory of hydrologic systems. Tech. Bull. 1468, U.S. Dep. Agric., Agric. Res. Serv, Washington, D.C pp. 75-98
- Chow, V.T., Maidment,D.M., and Mays, L.W. (1998) Applied Hydrology, McGraw Hill pp. 201-242
- Cleveland, T.G. He, X., Asquith, W.H., Fang, X., and D.B. Thompson. (2006) "Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph Evaluation for Rainfall-Runoff Modeling of Small Watersheds in North and South Central Texas." ASCE, Journal of Irrigation and Drainage, Vol. 132, No. 5, pp. 479-485.
- Cleveland, T.G., Thompson, D.B., Fang, X., and He, X. (2008) Synthesis of Unit Hydrographs from a Digital Elevation Model ASCE, Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Vol. 134, No. 2, pp 212-221
- Brutsaert, W. (2023) Hydrology: An Introduction: pp. 475-509 (Chapter 12 in Physical, Kindle, and linked versions)
Write a synthesis memorandum (essay; report; ....), which is a concise document that synthesizes information from multiple sources, in this case, 8 reading assignments, to provide an overview and analysis of analytical methods discussed in those readings. The memorandum is to summarize key points, identify common themes or trends across the readings, compare and contrast different methodologies, and offer conclusions based on the collective information. This document serves to distill complex information into a coherent and informative summary, highlighting the essential aspects of the analytical methods covered in the readings. Keep in mind your summarized content is to be applied to the next problem.
Problem 2¶
Bachman Branch watershed in Dallas Texas; Contour map (50 meter intervals) and shaded relief maps are displayed below. The watershed nominal drainage area is about 10 square miles. The actual gage location is LAT = $32^o51’26”$ N; LON = $96^o50’13”$ W. Coordinates pictured are meters Northing and Easting.
Data are from the Texas Digital Library (1st reference in list at end of this document)
Determine:
- Delineate the watershed using the map(s) above as a guide. Verify the total drainage area.
- Using Google Earth or something equivalent the CN for the entire watershed.
- Plot cumulative precipitation (in inches) versus time, and cumulative runoff (in watershed inches) versus time on the same plot. Use blue for precipitation and red for runoff.
- Using the CN; the anticipated fraction of precipitation that will become runoff.
- Using the observations; the fraction of precipitation that becomes runoff.
- Compare these results; did CN do a good job in this case?
- Convert the precipitation into incremental depths or intensities - whichever you need for the next step.
- Construct a unit hydrograph from these data, using your methods summarized from the readings above.
Precipitation
Use the last column as the distributed rainfall over the entire watershed. The "HOURS_PASSED" column is time since beginning of the rainfall event.
Data file : rain_sta08055700_1966_0617.dat
Contents:
# HYETOGRAPH FILE
# Filename=rain_sta08055700_1966_0617.dat
# site=08055700 Bachman Branch at Dallas, Texas
# latitude=32()51'36" Location 2
# longitude=96()50'12" Location 2
# drainage_area(mi2)=10.0
# DATE_TIME=date and time in MM/DD/YYYY@HH:MM
# PRECIP1=Gage 8-W raw recorded precipitation in inches
# PRECIP2=Gage 9-W raw recorded precipitation in inches
# PRECIP3=Gage 1-T raw recorded precipitation in inches
# PRECIP4=Gage 3-T raw recorded precipitation in inches
# PRECIP5=Gage 1-B raw recorded precipitation in inches
# PRECIP6=Gage 2-B raw recorded precipitation in inches
# ACCUM_WTD_PRECIP=weighted cumulative precipitation in inches
DATE_TIME HOURS_PASSED PRECIP1 PRECIP2 PRECIP3 PRECIP4 PRECIP5 PRECIP6 ACCUM_WTD_PRECIP
06/17/1966@05:15:00 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
06/17/1966@05:20:00 0.0833 0.0100 0.0100 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0100 0.0000
06/17/1966@05:25:00 0.1667 0.0100 0.0100 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0300 0.0100
06/17/1966@05:30:00 0.2500 0.0100 0.0200 0.0000 0.0500 0.0000 0.0800 0.0300
06/17/1966@05:35:00 0.3333 0.0200 0.0200 0.0000 0.1700 0.0100 0.2500 0.1100
06/17/1966@05:40:00 0.4167 0.1000 0.0400 0.0200 0.2700 0.0700 0.3300 0.1700
06/17/1966@05:45:00 0.5000 0.1400 0.1000 0.0900 0.3100 0.2100 0.3900 0.2700
06/17/1966@05:50:00 0.5833 0.2200 0.2000 0.2100 0.3500 0.4600 0.4800 0.4300
06/17/1966@06:00:00 0.7500 0.3100 0.5700 0.3200 0.5000 0.6900 0.6800 0.6200
06/17/1966@06:10:00 0.9167 0.4200 0.8400 0.5200 0.7700 0.8200 0.9600 0.8300
06/17/1966@06:20:00 1.0833 0.5600 1.0900 0.7000 1.0000 0.9900 1.1300 1.0100
06/17/1966@06:30:00 1.2500 0.6500 1.1800 0.8500 1.0300 1.1900 1.1700 1.1400
06/17/1966@06:45:00 1.5000 0.7200 1.3200 0.9400 1.0400 1.2700 1.2000 1.1800
06/17/1966@07:00:00 1.7500 0.7700 1.3600 0.9800 1.0600 1.3100 1.2400 1.2200
06/17/1966@07:15:00 2.0000 0.8200 1.4000 1.0200 1.1100 1.3300 1.2800 1.2400
06/17/1966@07:30:00 2.2500 0.8800 1.4500 1.0800 1.1300 1.3700 1.3300 1.3000
06/17/1966@07:45:00 2.5000 0.9400 1.5000 1.1100 1.1600 1.4000 1.3800 1.3500
06/17/1966@08:00:00 2.7500 1.0200 1.5600 1.1400 1.2300 1.4300 1.4200 1.3900
06/17/1966@08:15:00 3.0000 1.0600 1.6200 1.1700 1.2700 1.4900 1.4500 1.4200
06/17/1966@08:30:00 3.2500 1.1000 1.6600 1.1900 1.2900 1.5100 1.4800 1.4500
06/17/1966@08:45:00 3.5000 1.1200 1.6700 1.2200 1.3100 1.5300 1.5000 1.4700
06/17/1966@09:00:00 3.7500 1.1300 1.6900 1.2300 1.3300 1.5400 1.5100 1.4800
06/17/1966@10:00:00 4.7500 1.1400 1.7100 1.2500 1.3300 1.5400 1.5300 1.5000
06/17/1966@12:10:00 6.9167 1.1400 1.7100 1.3200 1.3400 1.5400 1.5300 1.5000
06/17/1966@12:15:00 7.0000 1.1400 1.7100 1.3300 1.3500 1.6100 1.6300 1.5600
06/17/1966@12:20:00 7.0833 1.1400 2.0000 1.3700 1.3900 1.7400 1.7100 1.6700
06/17/1966@12:25:00 7.1667 1.2600 2.1000 1.4200 1.4600 1.8700 1.7800 1.7500
06/17/1966@12:30:00 7.2500 1.2700 2.1700 1.4800 1.5000 1.9900 1.8400 1.8300
06/17/1966@12:45:00 7.5000 1.3600 2.3000 1.4900 1.5100 2.0000 1.8500 1.8500
06/17/1966@14:30:00 9.2500 1.4000 2.3000 1.5000 1.5200 2.0000 1.8500 1.8500Runoff
Use the last column as the distributed rainfall over the entire watershed. The "HOURS_PASSED" column is time since beginning of the rainfall event.
Data file: unit_sta08055700_1966_0617.dat
Contents:
# HYDROGRAPH FILE
# Filename=unit_sta08055700_1966_0617.dat
# site=08055700 Bachman Branch at Dallas, Texas
# latitude=32()51'37"
# longitude=96()50'13"
# drainage_area(mi2)=10.0
# DATE_TIME=date and time in MM/DD/YYYY@HH:MM
# RUNOFF=runoff in cubic feet per second
# ACCUM_RUNOFF=accumulated runoff in inches
DATE_TIME HOURS_PASSED RUNOFF ACCUM_RUNOFF
06/17/1966@00:00:00 0.0000 4.0000 0.0015
06/17/1966@05:00:00 5.0000 3.4000 0.0030
06/17/1966@05:31:00 5.5167 3.3000 0.0032
06/17/1966@06:00:00 6.0000 6.3000 0.0037
06/17/1966@06:31:00 6.5167 56.0000 0.0080
06/17/1966@07:00:00 7.0000 680.0000 0.0466
06/17/1966@07:15:00 7.2500 955.0000 0.0848
06/17/1966@07:31:00 7.5167 1100.0000 0.1274
06/17/1966@07:45:00 7.7500 990.0000 0.1644
06/17/1966@08:00:00 8.0000 740.0000 0.2083
06/17/1966@08:31:00 8.5167 475.0000 0.2451
06/17/1966@09:00:00 9.0000 360.0000 0.2864
06/17/1966@10:00:00 10.0000 260.0000 0.3267
06/17/1966@11:00:00 11.0000 144.0000 0.3490
06/17/1966@12:00:00 12.0000 67.0000 0.3593
06/17/1966@13:00:00 13.0000 48.0000 0.3650
06/17/1966@13:31:00 13.5167 104.0000 0.3710
06/17/1966@13:45:00 13.7500 380.0000 0.3852
06/17/1966@14:00:00 14.0000 600.0000 0.4084
06/17/1966@14:15:00 14.2500 475.0000 0.4274
06/17/1966@14:31:00 14.5167 380.0000 0.4495
06/17/1966@15:00:00 15.0000 260.0000 0.4794
06/17/1966@16:00:00 16.0000 104.0000 0.4955
06/17/1966@17:00:00 17.0000 48.0000 0.5029
06/17/1966@18:00:00 18.0000 31.0000 0.5101
06/17/1966@20:00:00 20.0000 17.0000 0.5153
06/17/1966@22:00:00 22.0000 13.0000 0.5194
06/18/1966@00:00:00 24.0000 9.8000 0.5209Problem 3¶
Apply the unit hydrograph, and your preferred loss model (CN, Green-Ampt, Observation Ratio, ...) to the following storm, and make a plot similar to the observation plots above.
Data file: rain_sta08055700_1976_0618.dat
Contents:
# HYETOGRAPH FILE
# Filename=rain_sta08055700_1976_0618.dat
# site=08055700 Bachman Branch at Dallas, Texas
# latitude=32()51'37" Location 5
# longitude=96()50'13" Location 5
# drainage_area(mi2)=10.0
# DATE_TIME=date and time in MM/DD/YYYY@HH:MM
# PRECIP1=Gage 1-B raw recorded precipitation in inches
# recorded as cum. Weighted calculated by UH team
DATE_TIME HOURS_PASSED PRECIP1 ACCUM_WTD_PRECIP
06/18/1976@06:00:00 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
06/18/1976@08:00:00 2.0000 0.0300 0.0300
06/18/1976@08:15:00 2.2500 0.3000 0.3000
06/18/1976@08:30:00 2.5000 1.2000 1.2000
06/18/1976@08:45:00 2.7500 1.4100 1.4100
06/18/1976@09:00:00 3.0000 1.5900 1.5900
06/18/1976@09:15:00 3.2500 1.6500 1.6500
06/18/1976@09:30:00 3.5000 1.6700 1.6700
06/18/1976@09:45:00 3.7500 1.7000 1.7000
06/18/1976@10:00:00 4.0000 1.7000 1.7000
06/18/1976@10:30:00 4.5000 1.7100 1.7100
06/18/1976@11:00:00 5.0000 1.7100 1.7100
06/18/1976@11:30:00 5.5000 1.8000 1.8000The observed hydrograph will be supplied after the due date, closest to the observed hydrograph will get a prize.