Geology 472/572
Surface Water Hydrology
Fall 2003
Dr. Robert Mitchell
ES234
650-3591
rjmitch@cc.wwu.edu
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~rjmitch/rjm.html
Office Hours: TF 11:00-12:00 am or MW 3:00 to 4:00, or by arrangement
Text: Physical Hydrology, S. Lawrence Dingman, 2nd Ed., 2002
Course Objectives: (1) Introduce the fundamentals of the processes controlling the mass balance of a
watershed, (2) develop a framework for solving field and modeling problems, and (3) provide an
overview of current issues in the field of surface water hydrology. This course offers 1-credit for
writing proficiency.
Lectures: One-hour lectures will be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in room ES 223.
Recitations: A one-hour recitation/lab will be on Tuesday in the computer lab AH 16. There will be
some Tuesdays that we will meet in the lecture room. I will keep you informed.
Homework and Exams: Project assignments will be given most every week and will be due the
following week at the beginning of class. Homework will be deducted 10% for each day it is late.
Homework will not be accepted after the return of the corrected homework. One midterm exam and a
comprehensive final exam will be given. You will be required to take all exams at the scheduled times.
Make-up exams will be given only in the case of official prearranged absences or emergencies. An
excused absence form from the office of Student Affairs is required.
Field Trip: A few-hour field trip will be Friday afternoon (3-6 pm), October 3. The field trip is
required. Departmental policy requires that you pay a small fee ($2.00) to Vicki before the 3th.
Projects: Graduate students enrolled for graduate credits are required to do a term research project.
See me individually to discuss ideas.
Grading: The grading break down will be as follows:
Homework…….…45%
(35% for graduate students and 10% for the term project)
Midterm……….…25%
Final Exam………30%
(The final is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec 10 at 8:00 am)
A grading scale will be as follows (a curve is possible but not certain):
100-93 = A, 92-90 = A-, 89-88 = B+, 87-83 = B, 82-80 = B-, 79-78 = C+, 77-73 = C, 72-70 = C-,
69-68 = D+, 67-63 = D, 62-60 = D-, 60 or below = F
General Topics to be Discussed
Basic Hydrologic Concepts
Precipitation
Infiltration
Evaporation
Evapotranspiration
Snow Hydrology
Runoff
Hydrograph Analyses
I reserve the right to change the syllabus as required throughout the term to better meet the instructional needs of the class.
Learning Objectives
The first week is devoted to the physical properties of water, i.e., water as a polar molecule, surface
tension, capillarity, heat capacity, latent heats, vapor pressure, humidity, and viscosity. I introduce
these properties first, because I use the molecular scale to explain the physics that underlie hydrologic
processes such as precipitation, infiltration, evaporation, transpiration, snow hydrology, runoff and
storage. In these descriptions I also make effective use of water balance and energy balance concepts.
When describing a physical process I use algebraic and trigonometric expressions, graphing,
derivatives, integration and to a small degree, differential equations. I also introduce statistical and
frequency analysis techniques to examine time series data sets. A theme that I constantly address in the
course is how variability in a natural system makes it difficult to predict hydrologic processes at the
basin scale and provide views on how this is addressed.
Access to GIS maps of land-cover distributions, hydraulic data from the city, and data from
precipitation gauges, weather stations, and stream gauges in the watershed allows me to effectively use
the Lake Whatcom watershed as a model to teach hydrologic concepts. We visit the watershed three
times during the quarter, once on a field trip and twice to collect actual field data for projects. I
developed a Field Guide for the trip, which is also referenced throughout the quarter. I maintain a
hydrology links page (e.g., NOAA and USGS) on my web site for reliable scientific information. I visit
these in lectures and encourage visiting them outside of class.
Assesment
Assignments
There are eight small projects during the quarter, but only six are graded. The projects are Excel and
writing intensive. The motivation for the projects is to allow you to couple classroom theory with a
local watershed and learn how to gather, analyze, and interpret real data from the watershed, and write
it up in a professional format. Two of the exercises are group exercises where you will visit the
watershed and collect the data.
I require that each project be presented in a professional “memo” style format using a word processor
and to use Excel for data analysis, graphs and tables. You will learn to write through feedback and
example--I provide both. I supply a handout that describes the writing requirements and make
available quality examples from former students. The memo portion is restricted to two pages to
improve concise writing, and includes an introduction, results, and discussion section. The discussion
section allows you to provide a thorough interpretation of their results, which facilitates critical
thinking. I also require all figures and tables to be neat and accurate have a “stand alone” format.
Equations and calculations are neatly summarized in an appendix. There are six written projects, so I
grade and provide frequent feedback on writing style, organization, voice, grammar, and knowing their
audience. The writing process not only augments critical thinking, it improves a professional skill.
Exams
I give one or two midterms (depending on class feedback) and a final exam. The final exam is
comprehensive, but is weighted more on the second half of the course. My exams are typically short
answer essay with en emphasis on process description. I want you to be able to tell me in words, what
drives a hydrologic process. At times I integrate problems that require calculations. Students are not
required to memorize equations, I provide them during exams.