What is Hydrology?

Think about all of the things necessary to life. All Humans need food, shelter, and what? That one thing is water. Water in one of the most important things that humans need and is approximately 80% of our body composition. In 1980, it was estimated that about 450 million gallons were used each day by humans. Because of its importance, scientists have been studying water for a long time. This study of water is called Hydrology.

Water flows from state to state. It flows from form to form and area to area. There is a constant flow of water throughout the ecosystem and through the world. Hydrology is a major part and is connected to all parts of science. Water affects everything and everyone. Nothing can be avoided from water’s importance. However, with human intervention, water is kept from continuing through the cycle. It is bound and cannot stop.

Water has three forms; solid, liquid, and gas. These are each important to human life. In the solid phase, water is known as ice. It is where water has been exposed to extreme cold and all of the molecules have been frozen to a specific shape. They take up a specific volume and area. The molecules have little to no movement and energy. All molecules have less energy or movement when they are cold.

When Ice has been warmed up to room temperature, it becomes the lovable liquid we have come to know as water. It flows easily and is an everyday necessity. It has a set volume, but no set shape. In other words, it can fill multiple glasses of the same size, but of different shapes. Water is versatile and has so many uses. When heated more, water changes phases to a gas.

Water in the gas phase is known as Water Vapor or Steam. Steam is one of the major sources of energy for Geothermal Energy. It is very versatile and has many uses. It has no set volume or shape. Gases expand to fit any kind of area; like how perfume will diffuse until it takes up all of the area. By knowing all of these forms, Hydrologists are able to expand on what they can do and where they can study.

Hydrologists can specialize in several different fields. They can study Limnology (Lakes), Oceanography (Oceans), Hydrometeorology (Atmosphere), Glaciology (Glaciers), Geomorphology (Landforms), Geochemistry (Groundwater Quality) and Hydrogeology (Groundwater). So there are several parts of Hydrology. There are several things that people can do in each of these fields. Most of their work is concerned with mathematical principles and technological working. The workplace can also range greatly.

Hydrologists are hired by many cities to plan sewer systems and how to plan to use water. Cities will also consult Hydrologists when planning how to plan for future needs. They are a really important part of city planning. They will determine how much water is going to be used by estimating the average amount of precipitation that the area gains. This determines how much water is gained by natural means and how much the city will need later in the future. They will also manage how much water is contained and used in a reservoir for a city. So they are used for several different reasons.

For those of you that question how this places into the scientific world, Chemistry is a major part of Hydrology. Hydrologists can use isotopes to determine how long it can take a water molecule to move form point ‘a’ to ‘b.’ So they can determine how water will move in underwater aquifers. Isotopes can also be used to follow water throughout the world. They can trace a specific Isotope to determine its path of movement in all forms of matter. So that can trace water that evaporates from Lake Michigan all the way to the Black Sea in Europe. It’s amazing how many things that scientists can do by using a simple molecule.

Hydrologists are a major part of obtaining energy as well. They plan and develop how to make turbines obtain energy through tides and waves. They are some of the reasons that we have half of the energy that is available today. Some of them are also used to assist in geothermal energy use. Geothermal energy uses steam, as we all learned last week, and steam is water. It only makes sense that Hydrologists are involved.

So Hydrology is a very important field of study. Since the ocean is such an important part of the world, it is very significant part of science. There are so many different things and fields to enter. There are too many to list. There are so many options when it comes to Hydrology. Who knows all of the options that there are. There are limitless possibilities.

Hydrology is the study of water. It is connected to many other fields of study. There are limitless options when it comes to jobs related to Hydrology. It is used for many things and advancements in society. It is one of the most important fields of study because of its relevance to humans. If only the world realized it’s so important. However, it’s does not appear to be happening anytime soon.

I believe that Hydrology should be made a more realistic form of study. It is not very well known, but it’s extremely important. For the world to be a better place there needs to be more Hydrologists. They are used for so many different things but they are not. With more of these scientists, it could be possible for more renewable forms of energy to be made. And we all know how important the need for renewable is.

Hydrology is one of the most important fields of study. It’s amazing through, on how it isn’t very well known. If only people were exposed to how things are planned and used by Hydrology, they could think things through better. I hope I don't have too many errors. I did this across three days, so I'll apologize for any errors. I hope that everyone that read this was able to get a sufficient grasp at what Hydrology is. Thanks for reading!!!