Hydrology, Land

a division of hydrology that studies the surface waters on land—rivers, lakes (reservoirs), swamps, and glaciers. Land hydrology is subdivided into potamology (the study of rivers), limnology (the study of lakes), the study of bogs and swamps, and glaciology (the study of glaciers). It examines the formation of the water balance and runoff, develops designs for hydrologic instruments, and predicts the hydrologic regime. It also studies the structure of river flows and water exchange in lakes, riverbed and coastal processes, physical phenomena such as those caused by heat and ice, and the chemical composition of waters. Land hydrology consists of hydrometry, hydrologic calculations and forecasting, hydrophysics, hydrochemistry, and hydrography.

The principal method of land hydrology is the stationary study of the hydrologic regime in a research network of stations. Expeditionary investigations of individual territories and features are also very important, and laboratory work is becoming increasingly important.

The conclusions of land hydrology with respect to the hydrologic regime of water bodies and territories are used in the implementation of water-management projects, including the construction of reservoirs and land-reclamation systems, industrial and communal water supplies, and sewage systems. These findings are also important for the development of the fishing industry, navigation, and so forth.