hydrometerology

Hydrometeorology is the study of fluxes of energy and water between the land surface and the atmosphere. Quantification of these fluxes is an essential pre-requisite to understanding both hydrological and meteorological processes and the ways in which these in turn influence the rate and timing of water movement in the environment. At the Earth's surface, the rate of evaporation depends on vegetation cover, soil type and climate, and is therefore very sensitive to changing land use and climate. In turn, the balance between evaporation and rainfall is critical in determining the amount, timing and rates of moisture availability in soils and thus the amount of water available to sustain crop production and to contribute to water resources in surface and groundwater systems.

In sensitive areas, from arid zones in developing nations, to south-east England where the fine balance between evaporation and rainfall rates is put under pressure by rising demands for water resources, hydrometeorology has a key role of play in providing an accurate assessment of the impacts of changing land cover or agricultural practice, and changing climatic conditions on current and future water resource availability.

HYDRA members have substantial expertise in hydrometeorological research, from the development and testing of modelling techniques to field based measurements. The wide skills base includes expertise in:

• the variability in time and space of rainfall and other climatic variables
• evaporation measurement and modelling
• the physics of soil water and soil water movement
• agricultural water use
• landscape scale hydrometeorological modelling and assessment
• prediction of hydrometeorological responses under climate change scenarios

Details on staff with expertise in this field can be found in the directory of expertise or by contacting the champion for this discipline Dr Richard Harding.

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