Description of Course Goals and Curriculum
This course is designed to teach the fundamentals of hydrology, or the study of the movement of land and atmospheric water. The focus is predominantly mathematical, with some discussion of historical water management as well.
The majority of in-class instruction (about 80%) is mathematical, focused on the derivation of equations of water motion, using physics, high-school level statistics, and basic physical modeling. The mathematics of the course does not go above multivariable calculus (MAT 201 or MAT 175 should be sufficient as prerequisites). The textbook for this part of the course , available on Blackboard, has 6 chapters, each introducing a different set of equations.
The mathematical content is ordered in terms of increasing modeling complexity, with conservation of mass equations and simple physics (ex. the Ideal Gas Law, Raoult’s Law) at the beginning and thermodynamic heat transfer equations (ex. Clausius Clapeyron) toward the end. The content also increases in detail, with the latter chapters introducing more specificand igorous models with fewer assumptions.
The remainder of course instruction (the majority of precepts and some lecture time) focused on the history of water systems in the US (the Mississippi River, the Colorado River, and the Columbia river, among others). Prof. Smith led the precepts in a discussion-style, talking about the ethics, politics, effectiveness, and long-term sustainability of water management, focusing on one water system per week.
Anyone with the required background in mathematics to take this course should find the math straightforward (“plug and chug”). The difficulty lies in knowing when to apply the equations and understanding their derivation. For example, the following difficulty was common: in one problem, students were given a list of rain droplet diameters in a rainstorm, and solving the problem required calculation of the average rain droplet volume. Some students correctly solved the problem by finding the volume of each rain drop in the sample and averaging, while others incorrectly averaged the diameters, then found the volume using the average.
The best way to deal with conceptual difficulties and learning how to apply the equations (particularly for those with less physics/engineering background) would be to go to office hours and discuss the problem sets. Most students who take this course are CEE upperclassmen, however, so most of the content is straightforward for engineering students.
Learning From Classroom Instruction
Lecture focuses almost exclusively on the derivation of equations for water movement. The notes present the equations, but significantly less derivation than we do in class. The best way to absorb material is to the read the notes before lecture, so you understand the goals of each class session.
As discussed earlier, precepts go over the readings on water systems (also on Blackboard). It is important to do these readings in order to be able to contribute to classroom discussion (note that we do not discuss the mathematical aspects of class during these precepts).
Two of the precepts toward the end of the semester are designated as “lab” sessions; they are the same length as a precept, 1 hour, except they take place in the CEE computer lab. Both labs introduce students to GSSHA (or “geisha”), a drainage basin-modeling software tool. The labs do not require any previous knowledge (students are given explicit instruction for each step), and the lab assignments are not particuarly difficult, nor is the knowledge required for any other aspect of the course.
Learning For and From Assignments
The problem sets have two types of questions: quantitative, intended to teach you how to apply class equations, and short answer, focusing on the water system readings. The best way to prepare for the problem sets is by paying attention in class and doing both the math and drainage basin reading, as well as following the prep for the exam questions, described below.
This class has one midterm exam (during class) and a standard, three hour written final exam. Both exams are predominantly quantitative with one essay question analyzing the water systems.
The quantitative questions are similar to the problem set questions.; the best way to practice for these would be to do well on the problem sets and attend office hours, since there are no practice problems for the exams and there is little outside material (most outside sources, such as Wikipedia or other hydrology textbooks, use different notation and procedure, so these are little help).
The best way to study for the water system questions would be to take careful notes during precept. The professor discusses explicitly the most important topics, and due to the short precept time there is not a great depth of material, so knowing it thoroughly is key.
The lab assignment is interesting and a good introduction to the software, but is a small part of the class and is relatively straightforward.
External Resources
As discussed earlier, most outside sources, such as Wikipedia or other hydrology textbooks, use different notation and procedure, so these are little help. Some students may still find parts of these sources useful (for example, the Wikipedia article on the atmospheric boundary layer). For the most part, studying the course material should be sufficient.
What Students Should Know About This Course For Purposes Of Course Selection
Students should expect to learn modeling of water systems and how to apply this knowledge, as well as gain an introduction to the intersection of politics, economics, sustainability, and ethics in water management policy. This course would be most useful for those intending to work in an environmental field, and builds on the skills developed in CEE and, to a lesser degree, Geosciences. Students in other majors may find the course interesting but not directly applicable.
The course has a relatively small time demand. Readings take about 30-45 minutes per week, and the problem sets take roughtly 1-3 hours, depending on your background.
As a CBE major, while I may never apply the information learned in this course, it encouraged me to enter the environmental track of CBE and the modeling skills and policy review were enjoyable and a nice introduction to another field of engineering.