Hydrology for engineers

Summary

This is an introductory course to key concepts and methods in physical and engineering hydrology.

Content

Keywords

Hydrology, hydrologic design, hydrologic model, floods, water balance, hydrologic cycle

Learning Prerequisites

Recommended courses

Elementary Fluid Mechanics; Hydraulics (in particular, Open Channel Flow)

Informatics and programming (especially in MATLAB)

Science du sol

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Predict hydrologic extremes at a certain location (elementary methods)
• Carry out basic hydrologic computations
• Implement basic hydrologic models
• Analyze hydrologic data
• Explore limits and validity of hydrologic methods
• Compare different methodologies
• Characterize the main hydrologic features of a certain site
• Identify fundamental physical processes within the hydrologic cycle

Transversal skills

• Plan and carry out activities in a way which makes optimal use of available time and other resources.
• Set objectives and design an action plan to reach those objectives.
• Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking

Teaching methods

• Weekly Lectures, carried out at the blackboard and with the aid of projected material
• Weekly exercises, partly in class and partly in a computer room using the software MATLAB. Homeworks are supervised but not evaluated by the teacher.
• 2 Assignments, to be carried out in groups of 2-3 students

Expected student activities

Plan and carry out activities in a way which makes optimal use of available time

Set objectives and design an action plan to reach those objectives.

Use a work methodology appropriate to the task. Regular attendance to classes and exercise sessions and a moderate amount of homework  should suffice to complete the class requirements in a satisfactory manner

Programming will be required.

Assessment methods

• Assignment I (15%)
• Assignment II (15%)
• Mid term exam (15%)
• Final written exam (55%)

Supervision

Resources

Bibliography

Slides/Class Notes

Support textbooks:

• Mays, L.W., 2010. Water Resources Engineering. John Wiley & Sons.
• Dingman, S.L., 2015. Physical Hydrology. Waveland press.
• Brutsaert, W., 2010. Hydrology: An Introduction. Univ. Press, Cambridge.

Ressources en bibliothèque

• Hydrology: An Introduction / Brutsaert
• Water Resources Engineering / Mays
• Physical Hydrology / Dingman

Notes/Handbook

Essentials for completion of the course will be self-contained in the Class notes -- uploaded weekly through the Moodle Platform

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/ENV-221