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Water balance
 
 
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In hydrology
Hydrology

Hydrology 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 water balance equation
Equation

An equation is a mathematics Proposition, in table of mathematical symbols, that two things are exactly the same . Equations are written with an equal sign, as in...
 can be used to describe the flow of water in and out of a system. A system can be one of several hydrological domains, such as a column of soil
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
 or a drainage basin
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
.

neral water balance equation is:

where is precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)

File:MeanMonthlyP.gifIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of Atmosphere water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface....
 is runoff
RUNOFF

RUNOFF was the first computer text formatting computer program to see significant use. It was written in 1964 for the Compatible Time-Sharing System operating system by Jerome H....
 is evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration

Evapotranspiration is a term used to describe the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the earth's land surface to atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water to the air from sources such as the soil, canopy interception, and waterbody....
 is the change in storage (in soil or the bedrock)

A water balance can be used to help manage water supply and predict where there may be water shortages.






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In hydrology
Hydrology

Hydrology 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 water balance equation
Equation

An equation is a mathematics Proposition, in table of mathematical symbols, that two things are exactly the same . Equations are written with an equal sign, as in...
 can be used to describe the flow of water in and out of a system. A system can be one of several hydrological domains, such as a column of soil
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
 or a drainage basin
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
.

Equation

A general water balance equation is:

where is precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)

File:MeanMonthlyP.gifIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of Atmosphere water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface....
 is runoff
RUNOFF

RUNOFF was the first computer text formatting computer program to see significant use. It was written in 1964 for the Compatible Time-Sharing System operating system by Jerome H....
 is evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration

Evapotranspiration is a term used to describe the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the earth's land surface to atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water to the air from sources such as the soil, canopy interception, and waterbody....
 is the change in storage (in soil or the bedrock)

A water balance can be used to help manage water supply and predict where there may be water shortages. It is also used in irrigation
Irrigation

Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production it is mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost....
, flood control and pollution control.

The water balance can be illustrated using a water balance graph which plots levels of precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)

File:MeanMonthlyP.gifIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of Atmosphere water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface....
 and evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration

Evapotranspiration is a term used to describe the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the earth's land surface to atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water to the air from sources such as the soil, canopy interception, and waterbody....
 often on a monthly scale.

Several monthly water balance models had been developed for several conditions and purposes. Monthly water balance models had been studied since the 1940s.

Models

Several diagnostic measures in hydrology can be used to select and evaluate the performance of water balance models

Applications

  • Evaluate the components of the hydrologic cycle
  • Snowmelt
    Snowmelt

    In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced....
     simulation
    Simulation

    Simulation is the imitation of some real thing, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviors of a selected physical or abstract system....
  • Climate change
    Climate change

    Climate change is any long-term significant change in the expected patterns of average weather of a specific region over an appropriately significant period of time....
     impact assessment
  • Flow
    Flow

    Flow may refer to:In science and technology:*Dataflow, computing term related to the flow of messages between software components*Environmental flow, the amount of water necessary in a watercourse to maintain a healthy ecosystem...
     forecasting and project design
  • Assess agricultural water management
    Hydrology (agriculture)

    Agricultural hydrology is the study of water balance components intervening in agricultural water management, notably in irrigation and drainage ....


Types

  • Models using precipitation
    Precipitation (meteorology)

    File:MeanMonthlyP.gifIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of Atmosphere water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface....
     (rainfall) as input
  • Models using rainfall and temperature
    Temperature

    In physics, temperature is a physical property of a Physical system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the greater temperature....
     as input
  • Models using rainfall and potential evaporation
    Potential evaporation

    Potential evaporation or potential evapotranspiration is defined as the amount of evaporation that would occur if a sufficient water source were available....
     as input
  • Models using daily input data


See also

  • Hydrology (agriculture)
    Hydrology (agriculture)

    Agricultural hydrology is the study of water balance components intervening in agricultural water management, notably in irrigation and drainage ....
  • Runoff model (reservoir)
    Runoff model (reservoir)

    A runoff model is a mathematical model describing the rainfall-runoff relations of a rainfall catchment area or watershed. More precisely, it produces the surface runoff hydrograph as a response to a rainfall hydrograph as input....


External links

  • Article on water and salt balances: