Physical Hydrology

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 656 pages
• Published by: Waveland Pr Inc
• Edition: 2nd Edition January 31, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1577665619
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1577665618
• Book Dimensions: 10 x 7.8 x 1.5 inches
• Weighs: 3.2 pounds

Product Description
Dingman's goal throughout Physical Hydrology is to provide an understanding of the conceptual basis of the subject and introduce the quantitative relations involved in answering scientific and water-resources-management questions. The author supplies the basic physical principles necessary for developing a sound intuitive and quantitative sense of the way in which water moves through the land. He outlines the assumptions behind each conceptual approach but also identifies some of the limitations of each. Rich in substance and written to fulfill the requirements of future researchers and experts in the field, Dingman treats hydrology as a distinct geoscience that is continually expanding to deal with large-scale changes in land use and climate. The text is organized around four principal themes: the basic concepts underlying the science of hydrology; the global climate, the global hydrologic cycle, and the relation of hydrology to soils and vegetation; the land phase of the hydrologic cycle; and water-resource-management principles and the ways in which hydrologic analysis is applied in that context. Coverage includes approaches for determining regional evapotranspiration rates, the movement of ground water in rock fractures, and the relation of hydrologic regimes to past and future climates. It offers in-depth discussions of hydrologic modeling--model use, modeling terminology, and the process of model development; water-resource-management goals and processes; water supply and demand; water-quality issues; floods and flood-frequency analysis; and drought and low-flow analysis. Outstanding features that facilitate learning include: A tabulation of documented trends in global change of climatic and hydrologic quantities; information on methods for handling missing data; discussions of the BROOK90 model and how it can be used with the text; Internet links to hydrologic information; exercises designed for student exploration; and Excel spreadsheets on the accompanying CD.

Publisher Description
Titles of related interest also from Waveland Press: Fetter, Contaminant Hydrogeology, Second Edition (ISBN 9781577665830) and Gupta, Hydrology and Hydraulic Systems, Third Edition (ISBN 9781577664550).

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Physical Hydrology (2nd Edition) (Hardcover) Anyone that thinks hydrology is just "water flow" is wrong! This book introduces the reader to many different concepts and explains them from *both* a mathematical and physical perspective. Hydrology is not just water...it is soil, snow, evaporation, etc...you get the idea. In the first edition of his book (I have the old one), Dingman gives you all the tips and tricks that real-world hydrologists use and *explains* them. Keep in mind, however--this topic is very math intensive and if you are weak on algebra, hydrology--and this book in particular--could be difficult to follow. Some equations have more than a dozen variables...watch out! I found the questions at the end of each chapter to be reasonably good, but I would like more thought questions. Sure, once you get the hang of it, anyone can crunch numbers to determine rainfall or snowmelt or whatever. But if you want to understand how/why things happen, you'll have to read the chapters--there is no way to gauge that aspect of learning. As a meteorologist, I sometimes find myself referring to *this* book instead of my other textbooks--it is laid out well and I can quickly find what I need, when I need it. All in all, this is a very good book that I'll refer to again and again.