Course

Hydrology

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Geography and the Environment
Course code
GEOG 3311
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 Weeks
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Lab
Field Experience
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This Earth Environments course explores hydrology, the scientific study of earth’s water resources. Students will be introduced to the physical and chemical properties of water and the processes responsible for its occurrence, distribution and cycling, with emphasis on the terrestrial phase of the hydrologic cycle. Field and lab work will involve measurement techniques and the analysis of hydrologic data. Emphasis will be placed on Canadian and western North American water resources and their management, including the impacts of urbanization and climate change.
Course content
  1. Introduction
    • definition and scope of hydrology
    • physical and chemical properties of water
  2. The hydrologic cycle
    • movement through various earth systems
    • phase changes and physical processes
  3. Global and regional water balances
    • mass and energy balance equations
  4. Precipitation
    • mechanisms
    • spatial variability
    • temporal variability
    • measurement
    • precipitation data analysis
  5. Interception and infiltration
    • definitions
    • measurement
    • effect of vegetation
    • Horton’s model
  6. Evaporation, evapotranspiration
    • estimation and measurement
    • spatial variability
    • atmospheric and surface controls
    • potential and actual evaporation
  7. Snow and ice
    • snowpack properties
    • distribution
    • measurement
    • snow melt processes
  8. Soil moisture
    • measurement
    • relevant physical properties of soil
    • water storage and movement
    • measurement
  9. Groundwater
    • confined and unconfined aquifers
    • storage
    • movement
    • Darcy’s law
  10. Run off
    • stream flow
    • basins
    • watershed models
  11. Surface water storage
    • lakes and depressions
  12. Inventory of Canadian water resources
    • effects of climate change
  13. Water quality and water management
    • properties of water
    • characteristics of water quality
    • natural and anthropogenic processes affecting water quality
    • urban hydrology
Learning activities

The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:  lecture, labs, field work, analysis and interpretation of hydrologic data, slides, videos, individual and/or team projects and small group discussions. Readings will be assigned to supplement the text book and the lectures.

Means of assessment

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy.  The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria during the first week of classes.

  • Laboratory assignments: 10-50%
  • Labratory exams: 30-50%
  • Exams: 25-50%.
  • Field work: 10-25%.
  • Term project: 10-25%.

An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:

Laboratory Assignments  30%
Midterm Examination  25%
Final Examination  25%
Term Project  20%
Total 100%
Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of the course, the successful student will be able to:

  1. Describe and explain the hydrologic cycle and the variety of processes involved within it.
  2. Describe and use maps and air photographs to identify and illustrate the variety of landforms involved in the terrestrial stage of the hydrologic cycle.
  3. Be able to utilize, through lab and field work, routine methods for measuring hydrologic flow and storage.
  4. Have used, through map and field work, some methods of analyzing hydrological data.
  5. Describe the extent of Canada’s water resources.
  6. Evaluate the human impact on stream systems and implications for water resource management.

 

Textbook materials

Texts will be updated periodically. Typical examples are: 

  • Davie, T. and Quinn, N.W. (2019) Fundamentals of Hydrology (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.
  • Dingman, S.L. (2015) Physical Hydrology (3rd ed.). Waveland press.
  • Shelton, M.L. (2018) Hydroclimatology: Perspectives and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  • Viessman, W. and Lewis, G.L. (2003) Introduction to Hydrology (5th ed.). New York: Harper Collins.

 

Requisites

Prerequisites

GEOG 2210 or GEOG 2220 or permission of instructor

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for GEOG 3311
Langara College (LANG) LANG GEOG 2XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU GEOG 311 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU GEOG 305 (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU GEOG 3XX (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC GEOG 310 (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV GEOG 303 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC GEOG 370 (1.5)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025