51cg

The course will provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary introduction to hydrology as a quantitative basis for understanding water resource fundamentals.

The six main components of the course will be:

• Hydroclimate and water: This will consider how climate is a first order control on the timing and quantity of water resource availability. The way in which this relates to extremes of flood and droughts will also be considered. A global perspective will be adopted to highlight the importance of quantifying the water balance at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The growing importance of climate variability and change for water security will be stressed.
• Soils, geology and subsurface water: This section will focus on the importance of freshwater water resources stored in the subsurface and the crucial roles that soil water and groundwater play in determining water availability. The critical role of soil in the water balance will stressed and the basic principles of groundwater storage, recharge and movement will be outlined. The challenges for quantifying these storage and flux dynamics will be demonstrated.
• Ecohydrology: the important influence that land use and vegetation have on water partitioning will be explored. The uncertainties in quantifying how natural vegetation communities recycle water and regulate “green water” fluxes of evapotranspiration back to the atmosphere will be demonstrated. This will be used as a basis for understanding how land use change in terms of urbanisation, agriculture and forestry can fundamentally affect water availability at different scales.
• Surface waters: this component will consider how stream flow is generated in different geographical environments and how this is affected by hydroclimatic extremes and land use change. The importance of these “blue water” fluxes in sustaining surface water resources will be stressed. The challenges in quantifying surface water resources, including river flows, lakes and reservoirs will be considered.
• Water quality: the concept of water quality will be examined in the context of water resources. The basic physical, chemical and biological components of water quality will be explained. Natural variations in water quality will be demonstrated and the main sources and problems of water pollution be considered. The importance of water quality with respect to water use will be considered from the perspective of water security.
• Water and sustaining ecosystem services: The concept of ecosystems services will be examined and the importance of understanding and prioritising their protection in the context of potentially competing societal demands will be stressed. Defining and using “ecological status” and the health of aquatic ecosystems as a benchmark for sustainably managing surface and subsurface water resources will be considered.

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

More Information about Week Numbers

There are no assessments for this course.