Hydrology and Water Resources

What is hydrology?

"Hydrology is the science that treats the waters of the Earth, their occurrence, circulation and distribution, their chemical and physical properties, and their reactions with their environment, including their relation to living things. The domain of hydrology embraces the full life history of water on the Earth." (National Research Council, 1992).

The hydrologic cycle (or water cycle) describes the movement of water from one "storage" to another in a closed system (the Earth).

Hydrology and Water Resources on the WWW

One of the better sources of general information on hydrology and water resources is the Hydrology Web.  In particular, you might want to look at their information on: How important is hydrology? Even USA Today has a Hydrology home page.

Water Use in the United States

How are our Nation's water resources used? Take a look at Water Questions and Answers: Water Use in the United States from the U.S. Geological Survey to find out.

References

National Research Council, 1992. Opportunities in the Hydrologic Sciences. P. S. Eagleson, Editor. National Academy Press, Washington D.C.
Last changed on 01/19/04 by aab.