Hydrology

Hydrology (from Greek: Yδρoλoγια, Yδωρ+Λoγos, Hydrologia, the "study of water") is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, and thus addresses both the hydrologic cycle and water resources. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist, working within the fields of either earth or environmental science, or civil and environmental engineering.

Hydrologic Measurements

The movement of water through the Earth can be measured in a number of ways. This information is important for both assessing water resources and understanding the processes involved in the hydrologic cycle. Following is a list of devices used by hydrologists and what they are used to measure.

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• Rain gauge - rain and snowfall
• Stream gauge - stream flow (see: discharge (hydrology))
• Radar - cloud properties
• Piezometer - groundwater pressure and, by inferrence, groundwater depth (see: aquifer test)
• Tensiometer - soil moisture
• Satellite
• Disdrometer - precipitation characteristics
• Time domain reflectometer - soil moisture
• Sling psychrometer - humidity
• Infiltrometer - infiltration