CE 394K.2 Surface Water Hydrology

Spring 2001

SYLLABUS


UNIQUE NUMBER            13876

INSTRUCTOR:         David R. Maidment

                                    Office: ECJ 8.612

                                    Phone: Campus 471-4620, CRWR 471-0065

                                    E-mail: maidment@mail.utexas.edu 

OFFICE HOURS    Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-5PM, ECJ 8.612 

LECTURES:              Tuesday and Thursday, 12:30-2:00PM, ECJ 7.208  (Some classes may be presented at the Center for Research in Water Resources on the Pickle Research Campus).                 

OBJECTIVES:          This course is designed to present an advanced understanding of:

§       The movement of water through the phases of the hydrologic cycle

§       Modeling of hydrologic systems

PREREQUISITES:   CE 319F and CE 356 or permission of instructor

COMPUTER:            Proficiency with computers and familiarity with a spreadsheet program like Excel is expected. There will be some computer assignments using HEC computer programs to be completed in the LRC. 

TEXT:                        There is no required text.  Reference texts will include “Applied Hydrology” by Chow, Maidment and Mays, McGraw-Hill, 1988, and the “Handbook of Hydrology”, Ed. by Maidment, which is on reserve in the Engineering Library. Other reading materials will be distributed during the semester.

CLASS FORMAT:    Lectures supplemented with outside reading, homework, and exams. 

CLASS OUTLINE:   See attached. 

GRADING:                Homework                  = 20%

                                    Midterm Exam             = 20%

                                    Oral Term Project       = 10%

                                    Written Term Project  = 30%

                                    Final Exam                  = 20%

Any problems, personal or otherwise, affecting grades should be brought to the instructor's attention. 

HOMEWORK POLICY     Homework assignments are due in by 5PM on the day assigned. There is a box outside my door in ECJ 8.6 for turning in assignments after the class hour, if necessary. Homework must be done on clean paper, stapled in the top left corner, have your name in the top right corner, and your name, class and assignment number written on the outside when the homework is folded in half. 

EXAMINATIONS:    There will be two 75 minute in class examinations and the final examination. Each examination will be closed book, although you will be allowed a 1-page review sheet, and will be given on the date and time indicated. Missed examinations may be made up only if the reason for missing was illness or some other emergency. Final Exam is scheduled to be given on Thursday May 10,  2-5PM.

EVALUATION:        The University Measurement and Evaluation Center forms will be used during the last week of class to evaluate the course and the instructor. 

DISHONESTY:         University procedures will be followed in dealing with cases of suspected scholastic dishonesty.

ATTENDANCE:        Regular class attendance is expected in accordance with The University's General Information catalog and the College of Engineering policy (see the section on Attendance in the Undergraduate Catalog). 

IMPORTANT NOTE:          The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4241 TDD or the College of Engineering Director of Students with Disabilities at 471-4321.


Important Dates

January 19 Friday. 

Last day of the official add/drop period; after this date, changes in registration require the approval of the chairman and usually the student's dean. (See General Information, chapter 4, for required approvals.)

Last day undergraduate students may register without the approval of the registrar.

Last day graduate students may register and pay fees without the approval of the graduate dean.

January 31 Wednesday. 

Twelfth class day. Last day an undergraduate student may add a course except for rare and extenuating circumstances.

Last day a graduate student may, with the required approvals, add a course.

Payment for added courses (add bill) due.

Last day to drop a course for a possible refund.

February 1 Thursday. 

Last day to apply for a graduate degree.

February 12 Monday. 

Last day an undergraduate may drop a course without a possible academic penalty. The instructor must assign a "Q" symbol or a grade of F.

March 12-17 Monday-Saturday. 

Spring break.

March 26 Monday. 

Last day an undergraduate student may, with the dean's approval, withdraw from the University or drop a course except for urgent and substantiated, nonacademic reasons.

Last day to change registration in a course to or from the pass/fail or credit/no credit basis.

Last day to apply for an undergraduate degree.

April 11-13 Wednesday-Friday, 16-20 Monday-Friday. 

Academic advising for continuing and readmitted students for the summer session and the fall semester.

April 13 Friday. 

Deadline for master's degree candidates to have all incompletes removed from their Programs of Work; grade change forms must be submitted by instructors to the Office of Graduate Studies by this date.

April 16-21 Monday-Saturday. 

Registration for the summer session for continuing and readmitted students.

April 23-May 5 Monday-Saturday.

Registration for the fall semester for continuing and readmitted students.

May 4 Friday.   Last class day.

Master's Report, Master's Thesis, and Doctoral Dissertation due.

Last day a graduate student may, with the approval of the instructor, the graduate adviser, and the graduate dean, drop a course. The instructor must assign a "Q" symbol or a grade of F.

May 7-8, 13 Monday-Tuesday, Sunday. No-class days.

May 9-12, Wednesday-Saturday, May 14-15 Monday-Tuesday. 

Spring semester final examinations except in the School of Law.


Term Project

 

You are expected to “adopt” a hydrologic, hydraulic or other water resources model and examine its application during the semester.   Possible candidate models include the HEC’s HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, HEC-FDA models, DHI’s Mike-11 or possibly other models from the Danish Hydraulic Institute; GMS, WMS or SMS from Brigham Young University, or models from the EPA Basins program, or another modeling system.   You will be responsible for describing how your model functions through class presentations during the semester.    During regular class presentations and discussion, we will explore the physical processes of the phases of the hydrologic cycle that are inherent in the way the models work, so as to achieve an understanding first of how the hydrologic cycle functions, and secondly how that functioning is translated into engineering applications in hydrology and water resources.   

 

Your goal for the semester term project is to achieve a successfully applied and calibrated model that reasonably reproduces observed hydrologic data in some region of interest (a task easier said than done!).   It is possible that two students may be working with the same model, but in this case, they must select different regions of interest for their application study.  It is also possible for more than one student to be working in the same area of interest, but in this case, they must be using different models.   You will be expected to present your term project orally and in written form in html at the end of the semester.  An important aspect of the evaluation of your term project is not simply what you did but what you learned from what you did.  I am expecting that you will deepen your understanding of the physical processes of the hydrologic cycle through this experience.  I am also expecting that you will acquire a greater appreciation of what can be accomplished through hydrologic modeling, and perhaps also what cannot be accomplished, or what is difficult to accomplish.

 

Key dates are shown in italics in the schedule below.


 

SCHEDULE


 

Date

Topic

Tues Jan 16

Introduction to the course

Thurs Jan 18

Review of hydrologic modeling systems

Tues Jan 23

Student Reviews of Hydrologic Models

Thurs Jan 25

Land surface – atmospheric interaction

Tues Jan 30

Land surface – atmospheric interaction

Turn in your modeling proposals

Thurs Feb 1

Land surface – atmospheric interaction

Tues Feb 6

Student presentations: what does your model do?

Thurs Feb 8

Movement of water from land to streams

Tues Feb 13

Movement of water from land to streams

Thurs Feb 15

Movement of water from land to streams

Tues Feb 20

Movement of water from land to streams

Thurs Feb 22

Student presentations: how does your model work?

Tues Feb 27

Student presentations: how does your model work?

Thurs Mar 1

Review for Midterm Exam

Tues Mar 6

Midterm Exam

Thurs Mar 8

Movement of water within streams and rivers

Spring Break!

 

Tues Mar 20

Movement of water within streams and rivers

Thurs Mar 22

Movement of water within streams and rivers

Tues Mar 23

Movement of water within streams and rivers

Thurs Mar 29

Review of Progress with Term Projects

Tues Apr 3

Erosion and Sediment Transport

Thurs Apr 5

Erosion and Sediment Transport

Tues Apr 10

Risk analysis and uncertainty

Thurs Apr 12

Risk analysis and uncertainty

Tues Apr 17

Risk analysis and uncertainty

Thurs Apr 19

Risk analysis and uncertainty

Tues Apr 24

Term Project presentations

Thurs Apr 25

Term Project presentations

Tues May 1

Term Project presentations

Thurs May 3

Course instructor evaluation and review for the final exam

Thursday May 12, 2-5PM

Final examination





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