ES 402 - Hydrology

Lab. Exercise 2

p. 2 - 1

RAINFALL ANALYSIS WITH EXCEL

PURPOSE: give the student additional practice in the use of spreadsheet programs to analyze hydrological data. INTRODUCTION The measurement o precipitation is a undamental aspect o practical hydrology. The sub!ect di"ides into t#o parts in t#o #ays$ the precipitation may be li%uid or solid& and the measuring de"ices may be nonrecording or recording. Ta'e rain gages irst$ the basic idea couldn(t be simpler. )ny can or buc'et #ill collect rain. Total rain all can be determined by measuring the "olume o #ater collected or& i the sides are straight& the depth o #ater in the container. The *Standard+ nonrecording rain gage used by the ,. S. -eather Ser"ice is an .-inch diameter metal cylinder #ith a 'ni e-edge rim that literally splits raindrops in hal /0lac' 1111& p. 2.3. 4nside the cylinder is a unnel& recessed belo# the rim to pre"ent rain splashing out o the gage& #hich leads into a 2.25-inch recei"ing cylinder. This arrangement minimi6es e"aporation by reducing the si6e o the inner opening. 4t also creates a 10$1 ratio bet#een the area o the gage and the inner recei"er& so a rain all o 0.01+ #ill ill the inner recei"er to a depth o 0.1+& the minimum depth #hich is recordable. Smaller amounts o precipitation are recorded as a *trace+. 7onrecording gages are usually emptied once a day& typically at the start o the #or'day /8 or . am.3. ) nonrecording rain gage does not indicate the pattern o rain all exactly #hen the rain began and ended& and its intensity /depth or "olume per time& such as inches per hour3 during the course o the storm. ) "ariety o recording gages are used to produce #hat is termed a hyetogra h /a plot o rain all intensity "ersus time3. -eighing gages ha"e a balance under the collecting "essel9 the #eight o the buc'et is recorded on a paper chart /at least in the old-style units9 4 suppose electronic recording de"ices may be in use by no#3. The gage still has to be emptied manually and i it is le t unattended or a period o days& appreciable e"aporation may occur& biasing the measurement. ) use ul alternati"e is the ti ing !"#$et gage& in #hich t#o small buc'ets are balanced on either side o a ulcrum& li'e seats on a see-sa#. :ne buc'et sits under the unnel until it ills9 #hen the buc'et ills it tips out o the #ay& emptying and mo"ing the other buc'et into position. The gage is there ore sel -emptying and can operate remotely #ithout daily "isits. Each buc'et tip sends out an electronic signal that can be recorded. 0uc'ets are typically calibrated to hold the e%ui"alent o 0.01+ /0.224 mm3 o rain all. Tipping buc'et gages are not as accurate as #eighting or nonrecording gages& and are usually used to record rain all intensity but not total rain all9 the latter is gotten rom a nearby nonrecording gage /-ard and Elliot 1112& p. 523.

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Lab. Exercise 2

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*The measurement o sno# in precipitation gages is raught #ith di iculties+ /;ingman 1114& p. 1013. The sno# must be melted& using either a heated gage or an unheated gage illed #ith concentrated anti ree6e. <ore importantly& sno# tends to blo# o"er a gage and not be collected in representati"e amounts& and i the gage ills #ith sno# any urther sno# all is lost. =or this reason measurements o sno# all are o ten made directly on the ground.

ES 402 - Hydrology

Lab. Exercise 2

p. 2 - 5

Since the summer o 1118 4 ha"e been operating a tippingbuc'et rain gage manu actured by >ain-ise 4nc. on the roo o the extension to ;eLa>oche Hall. The site does not meet o icial speci ications$ the area around the gage is not ree o obstructions #ithin a 42 o angle abo"e the gage. 4t does& ho#e"er& pro"ide a relati"e record o rain all intensity e"en i its absolute accuracy is %uestionable. 0uc'et tips are recorded& #ith a date-time stamp& on a computer in my lab. This #ee'(s laboratory exercise #ill in"ol"e you in analy6ing the data rom a ma!or storm recorded by this gage. PROCEDURE The course #eb site contains an E?@EL ile& *Lab 2 - template+& #ith data rom a se"eral-day long storm. Each datum consists o the date /ddmmm-yy ormat3& ollo#ed by the hour /in 24-hour ormat3& minutes& and seconds at #hich each buc'et tip occurred. The computer program that monitors the rain gage also calculates hourly and daily rain all totals9 note that the daily totals are calculated rom 8 am to 8 am& because the o icial :lean rain gage /at the :lean Se#age Treatment Alant3 is read at about 8 am. 4("e pro"ided columns or /a3 ;ay number /#ill be used to calculate days since the start o the storm3& /b3 Elapsed time /#ill be used to calculate the time& in hours& since the start o the record3& /c3 @umulati"e rain all& and /d3 >ain all intensity. Bour !ob #ill be to create ormulas or calculating these %uantities& to graph the results& and to analy6e the graphs. A% E&a se' ti(e 4n order to plot a hyetograph o this storm& you must create a continuous time "ariable. The one 4 suggest is elapsed time since the start o the data ile. 4 & or example& the data ile begins #ith C-Dan-1.& let midnight o the Cth E time 0 and calculate time& in hours& rom this point through the end o the storm. To begin #ith& you need to ill the *;ay+ column. The irst "alue is already entered in cell 011. To extend this "alue do#n the column& you could type in each day number. ) #onder ul shortcut in E?@EL& the *=ill handle+& #ill ma'e the !ob much easier& ho#e"er. @lic' on cell 011 - note that the cell is outlined in a dar' line and the lo#er right hand corner is mar'ed by a blac' s%uare. Aoint to this s%uare and #ait until the cursor turns to a dar' *F+. Then clic' and drag the cell contents do#n the column. Stop& o course& #hen you reach a ro# or #hich the ;ate column indicates a ne# day. Enter the ne# day number manually and then ill it do#n the column. 7ice& huhG The *=ill handle+ can be used #ith labels and ormulas as #ell as data. -ith data& ho#e"er& it has an especially use ul eature. 4n a blan' column some#here to the right& type 1 into the top cell and 5 into the cell belo# it. Then highlight !oth cells and point to the ill handle on the lo#er cell /#ith

ES 402 - Hydrology

Lab. Exercise 2

p. 2 - 4

*5+ in it3. ;rag the cells do#n the column and obser"e the result. This approach can be used or any consistent pattern$ counting by 2(s& 2(s& etc.

ES 402 - Hydrology

Lab. Exercise 2

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7o# do some thin'ing$ ho# can you use the ;ay& Hour& <inutes and Seconds columns to create the time since midnight on day H1G Enter the appropriate ormula in the column entitled *Elapsed time /hours3+ and pull it do#n the column. @hec' to ma'e sure the results are correct& particularly #hen mo"ing rom one day to the next. )% C"("&ati*e rain+a&& Each ro# in the data ile represents a single buc'et tip. The rain all depth per tip is gi"en in cell @C. ,se this in ormation to calculate the C"("&ati*e rain+a&& #hich occurred during the storm. Scan this column to determine /a3 the date and time at #hich 20I o the rain all had occurred and /b3 the elapsed time rom the start o the storm to the 20I mar'. The 20I point is the *center o mass+ or #entroi' o the hyetograph& the a"erage time o the rain all. 4t is use ul in predicting lood crests. C% Rain+a&& intensity The rate at #hich rain ell during the storm is calculated by ta'ing the depth /in mm3 associated #ith each tip o the buc'et and di"iding it by the time inter"al o"er #hich the buc'et illed /in hours3. Bou #ill need to thin' about ho# to calculate the inter"al. 7ote that you can(t calculate intensity or the irst buc'et tip /ro# 113 because you don(t ha"e a pre"ious time to calculate rom. Aut the rate o rain all in the column labeled *>ain all intensity /mmJhr3+. Aroduce an ?-B scatter graph #hich plots 4ntensity "ersus Elapsed time. D% Co( arison o+ hyetogra h to strea( hy'rogra h ) 'ey tas' o hydrology is to predict ho# a gi"en amount and distribution o precipitation /the hyetograph3 #ill a ect lo# in a stream. ) plot o stream lo# /or discharge3 "ersus time is termed a hy'rogra h. The ,. S. Keological Sur"ey /,SKS3 measures stream lo#s throughout the ,. S. and publishes stream hydrographs on the #orld-#ide #eb /7e# Bor' State sites are a"ailable "ia http$JJny.usgs.go"J3. ;ata rom stream gages are relayed to a Keostationary :perational En"ironmental Satellite e"ery 54 hours and placed on the #eb soon a ter /http$JJny.usgs.go"JrtJhtmlJrtLdataL%uality.html3. ,n ortunately& the realtime data are in terms o ri"er stage /#ater le"el or height3& not +&o, /"olume per time3. Still& the attached hydrographs rom the ,SKS Salamanca gage gi"e a nice picture o the lood that occurred as a result o the rain all you("e analy6ed. Some %uestions to discuss in your group$ ho# does the timing o the storm relate to the lood pea'G Ho# long did it ta'e the ri"er to start rising a ter the rain beganG ;oes the centroid o the hyetograph correspond to the time o pea' lo#& or is there a delayG 4 a delay& ho# long did it ta'e the ri"er to reach pea' a ter the center o mass o the rain all occurredG -hat actors might cause such a delayG Ho# long did the ri"er ta'e to return to the pre- lood le"elG Literat"re Cite'

ES 402 - Hydrology

Lab. Exercise 2

p. 2 - C

0lac'& A. E. 1111. -atershed hydrology. Arentice Hall& Engle#ood @li s& 7D. ;ingman& S. L. 1114. Ahysical hydrology. Arentice Hall& Engle#ood @li s& 7D. -ard& ). ;. and S. -. Trimble. 2004. En"ironmental hydrology. 2 nd ed. Le#is& 0oca >aton& =L.