Hydrology is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydrologist. Hydrologists are scientists studying earth or environmental science, civil or environmental engineering, and physical geography. Using various analytical methods and scientific techniques, they collect and analyze data to help solve water related problems such as environmental preservation, natural disasters, and water management.
Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and animals. In accordance with these agents, erosion is sometimes divided into water erosion, glacial erosion, snow erosion, wind (aeolian) erosion, zoogenic erosion and anthropogenic erosion such as tillage erosion. Soil erosion may be a slow process that continues relatively unnoticed, or it may occur at an alarming rate causing a serious loss of topsoil. The loss of soil from farmland may be reflected in reduced crop production potential, lower surface water quality and damaged drainage networks. Soil erosion could also cause sinkholes.
Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil (infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed land surface in ponds and puddles, evaporate back into the atmosphere, or contribute to surface runoff. Most runoff is conveyed directly as surface water to nearby streams, rivers or other large water bodies without treatment.
A gully is a landform created by running water, mass movement, or commonly a combination of both eroding sharply into soil or other relatively erodible material, typically on a hillside or in river floodplains or terraces.
The Gunnison River is located in western Colorado, United States and is one of the largest tributaries of the Colorado River.
Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs.
The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, or California Delta, is an expansive inland river delta and estuary in Northern California. The Delta is formed at the western edge of the Central Valley by the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and lies just east of where the rivers enter Suisun Bay, which flows into San Francisco Bay, then the Pacific Ocean via San Pablo Bay. The Delta is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy. Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta was designated a National Heritage Area on March 12, 2019. The city of Stockton is located on the San Joaquin River at the eastern edge of the delta. The total area of the Delta, including both land and water, is about 1,100 square miles (2,800 km2). Its population is around 500,000.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers.
Erosion control is the practice of preventing or controlling wind or water erosion in agriculture, land development, coastal areas, river banks and construction. Effective erosion controls handle surface runoff and are important techniques in preventing water pollution, soil loss, wildlife habitat loss and human property loss.
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse contamination of water or air that does not originate from a single discrete source. This type of pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a large area. It is in contrast to point source pollution which results from a single source. Nonpoint source pollution generally results from land runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage, seepage, or hydrological modification where tracing pollution back to a single source is difficult. Nonpoint source water pollution affects a water body from sources such as polluted runoff from agricultural areas draining into a river, or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea. Nonpoint source air pollution affects air quality, from sources such as smokestacks or car tailpipes. Although these pollutants have originated from a point source, the long-range transport ability and multiple sources of the pollutant make it a nonpoint source of pollution; if the discharges were to occur to a body of water or into the atmosphere at a single location, the pollution would be single-point.
Surface runoff is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to channel runoff. It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when the soil is saturated by water to its full capacity, and the rain arrives more quickly than the soil can absorb it. Surface runoff often occurs because impervious areas do not allow water to soak into the ground. Furthermore, runoff can occur either through natural or human-made processes.
An hydrological transport model is a mathematical model used to simulate the flow of rivers, streams, groundwater movement or drainage front displacement, and calculate water quality parameters. These models generally came into use in the 1960s and 1970s when demand for numerical forecasting of water quality and drainage was driven by environmental legislation, and at a similar time widespread access to significant computer power became available. Much of the original model development took place in the United States and United Kingdom, but today these models are refined and used worldwide.
The Kesterson Reservoir is part of the current San Luis National Wildlife Refuge in California. Formerly a unit of the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, the reservoir was an important stopping point for migratory waterfowl. Kesterson once consisted of 12 evaporation ponds totaling approximately 1,280 acres, and was historically used for agricultural drainage. Kesterson gained national attention during the latter half of the 20th century due to selenium toxicity and rapid die off of migratory waterfowl, fish, insects, plants and algae. The reservoir was closed in 1986, and concentrations of selenium at the site have continued to be monitored throughout remediation efforts.
This page is an index of sustainability articles.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to hydrology:
The San Joaquin Valley of California has seen environmental issues arise from agricultural production, industrial processing and the region's use as a transportation corridor.
Natural Resources Engineering, the sixth Abet accredited environmental engineering program in the United States, is a subset of environmental engineering that applies various branches of science in order to create new technology that aims to protect, maintain, and establish sustainable natural resources. Specifically, natural resources engineers are concerned with applying engineering concepts and solutions to prevalent environmental issues. Common natural resources this discipline of engineering works closely with include both living resources such as plants and animals as well as non-living resources such as renewable energy, land, soils, and water. Natural resource engineering also involves researching and evaluating natural and societal forces. The hydrological cycle is the main component of natural forces and the desires of other people attribute to societal forces. Some historical examples of applications of natural resources engineering include the Roman aqueducts and the Hoover Dam.
George Fleming is a Scottish civil engineer specialising in environmental issues. Educated at the Royal College of Science and Technology, Stanford University and the University of Strathclyde he is a doctor of philosophy. His research started with studies of the hydrology of the River Clyde that expanded to a range of subjects including, flood risk, dredging, nuclear waste management, decommissioning of North Sea platforms and contaminated land. He has written reports on flooding for the Institution of Civil Engineers and the British government. Fleming was involved in the planning stages of the Glasgow Garden Festival of 1988 and established a way of reusing dredgings from the Clyde to provide topsoil for the event. He has served as a non-executive director of British Waterways, Port of Tyne boards and for WRAP, a government quango whose aim was to promote recycling and resource efficiency. He is founder and chairman of the EnviroCentre environmental consultancy, of which his son, Duar, is managing director.
Restore the Delta is a campaign, based in Stockton, California that advocates for restoring the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta also known as the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary. It began in 2006 working towards education and outreach to help Californians recognize the Delta as part of California's heritage. Currently, there are up to 40,000 members throughout California of both residents and various organizations working towards the same goal.
David J. Mulla is an American soil scientist. He played an role in the organization of the International Conference on Precision Agriculture (ICPA), which started as a small workshop in Minneapolis in the early 1990s and developed into the International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA). Until 2008, the meetings of the ICPA were hosted by the University of Minnesota. In 2013, he published a review of advances in remote sensing for precision agriculture.
