Hydrology Archives - Aquatic Informatics

The Fracking Truth About Hydraulic Fracturing

Stu Hamilton — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 21:13:28 +0000

Read about differing opinions about the hydraulic fracturing "fracking" technique used for shale gas extraction.

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The Other Extreme : the Measurement of Water Flow

Stu Hamilton — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 01:47:13 +0000

Most conversations about extreme measurements focus on flood flow. However, I recently had a conversation with Emily Huxter about her…

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A Hydrologist’s Holiday

Stu Hamilton — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 20:04:26 +0000

A 3-day hike in July on the Wapta Icefield in the Canadian Rockies with my son took us up the Bow Glacier, briefly onto the Yoho Glacier and then down the Peyto Glacier. Bow Glacier meltwater flows into the South Saskatchewan River (146,100 km2). Yoho Glacier meltwater flows into the Columbia River (668,000 km2). Peyto Glacier meltwater flows in the North Saskatchewan River (122,800 km2).

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The Weaponization of Water Data

Stu Hamilton — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 08:00:01 +0000

Every change in the expected pattern of variability of water supply and quality poses a threat to the security of the water, food and energy we are dependent on for quality of life. Up until the very recent past conversations about the role of water data tended to be about development of, and management of, our water resources in a way that served environmental sustainability. Water data give us the means to identify the right balance between human and in-stream requirements and the evidence to ensure that such balance is respected.

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How to Get Better Flow Measurements Using the Rising Bubble Method

Stu Hamilton — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 19:57:03 +0000

One objective of the Hydrology Corner is to provide a forum where hydrometric problems can be discussed and clever solutions to those problems can be shared. The stream gaugers vs. beavers post is a good example of a discussion of a difficult problem. Not only have several people posted on the blog but the post also resulted in an email exchange with Jeff Watson from Horizons Regional Council who realized that New Zealand may have a solution to a North American problem.

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Data Rounding and Why You Should Care

Stu Hamilton — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 19:34:31 +0000

To understand why modern data management systems store data to double precision we must consider the distinction between storing and reporting of data.

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Extreme Gauging – How to Extend Rating Curves With Confidence

Stu Hamilton — Tue, 24 May 2016 23:06:36 +0000

Extreme flows are extremely hard to gauge, hence we get very few gaugings to accurately define the top-end of stage-discharge rating curves. This is a problem. Whereas empirically calibrated functional relationships can be trustworthy for the purpose of interpolation, they can be notoriously unreliable for extrapolation. One needs to be very careful about extrapolating any rating curve to an ungauged extreme.

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Drones – Providing a New Perspective on Hydrometry

Stu Hamilton — Tue, 31 May 2016 20:43:42 +0000

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) also known as drones, can be used for Large-Scale Particle Image Velocimetry to provide cross-sectional hydrometry info.

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Stage-Discharge Rating Curves – Geophysics or Religion?

Stu Hamilton — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 07:05:48 +0000

Almost everything we know about our global freshwater resources is due to the humble stage-discharge rating curve. The vast majority of all flow data ever produced is the derived result of a transform from a variable that is easy to monitor continuously (stage) to a variable that is impossible to directly measure continuously (discharge). This means we are dependent on rating curves for advancements in hydrological science; for flood forecasting; for drought management; for engineering designs that provide us with physical safety, transportation, water supply and waste disposal; for water management policies and decisions that ensure energy and food security.

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Messy Rivers are Healthy Rivers

Stu Hamilton — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 18:59:47 +0000

Dr. Ellen Wohl provoked the audience to give thought to how we evaluate river health in her keynote address to the Riverflow 2016 Conference in St. Louis Missouri. Mindfulness of one’s own motivations and openness to a broader perspective is a good starting place for this discussion. Whereas a concrete-lined drainage ditch is highly functional in one world-view, a poorly drained swamp can be highly functional in a different world view. In order to understand rivers we need to be self-aware of our place in the natural order of things.

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