Course Objectives This course aims to describe and explain -
The physical principles and processes that govern hydrology, with special reference to Canadian conditions.
Mass and energy balance calculations and their application in hydrology.
On completion of this course, students should be able to:
Describe the principal hydrological processes active in Canadian contexts
Assess the effects of variable boundary conditions on hydrology
Apply coupled energy and mass balance equations to calculate hydrological fluxes including runoff and streamflow.
Course synopsis The University of Saskatchewan Centre for Hydrology with the assistance of the Canadian Society for Hydrological Sciences is offering an intensive course on the physical principles of hydrology with particular relevance to Canadian conditions. Factors governing hydrological processes in Canadian landscapes will be discussed including precipitation, interception, energy balance, snow accumulation, snowmelt, glaciers, evaporation, evapotranspiration, infiltration, groundwater movement and streamflow routing and hydraulics. These processes will be framed within the context of distinctly Canadian landscape features such as high mountains, glaciers, peatlands, prairies, tundra, boreal forests, frozen rivers and seasonally frozen ground. Students will be exposed to an overview of each subject, with recent scientific findings and new cutting edge theories, tools and techniques. They will complete numerical and essay assignments to develop skills in problem solving and in synthesizing complex hydrological concepts. Field examinations in nearby environments and research basins will enhance the learning experience. Students will emerge from the course with a deeper understanding of physical hydrological processes and how they interact to produce catchment water budgets and streamflow response.
The course will take place at the University of Calgary’s Biogeoscience Institute’s Barrier Lake Station in the Kananaskis Valley from 10-21 January, 2018. The course will focus on classroom instruction, but will take advantage of the proximity to the Marmot Creek Research Basin and the Canadian Rockies Hydrological Observatory to expose students to cold regions hydrological phenomenon, state of the art field instrumentation and measurement techniques. Each day will start with lectures on the primary subject, and include time to work on assigned exercises. Certain days will include a field work component to examine the processes and measurement techniques relevant to the lectures.
The course is intended for hydrology and water resources graduate students and early to midlevel career water resource engineers, hydrologists, aquatic ecologists and technologists who are either working directly in hydrology and water resources or are looking to broaden their understanding of hydrological systems and processes. This physical science course is quantitative in nature and so a firm foundation in calculus and physics at the first year university level and some undergraduate hydrology or hydraulics training is strongly recommended.
Instructors and Preliminary Schedule
Details of course content will be confirmed shortly. Topics included are likely to be similar to those in the 2017 course, shown in the table below:
Date
Subject
Instructor
Jan 10th
Fundamentals & Hydrological Cycle
Climate Change and Hydrological Modelling
Snowmelt and Snowcover Depletion
Flow Through Snow
Dr John Pomeroy
Nicolas Leroux
Jan 15th
Glaciers
Sensors
- Assignment 2
Mike Demuth PEng PGeo
Eric Courtin
Jan 16th
Groundwater Hydrology
- Assignment 3
7 pm, University of Calgary: D’Arcy Lecture - Alpine Groundwater
Dr Edwin Cey
Dr Masaki Hayashi
Jan 17th
DAY OFF
Jan 18th
Infiltration & Soil Water
- Instrumented Site Visit
Permafrost Hydrology
Dr Charles Maulé
Dr John Pomeroy
Sebastian Krogh
Jan 19th
Hillslope and Catchment Hydrology
River Basin Hydrology
- Assignment 4
- Stream gauge visit
Dr Sean Carey
Dr Kevin Shook
Dr Alain Pietroniro
Jan 20th
Hydraulics,
River Ice,
Routing & and Hydrographs
- Assignment 5
- Synthesis
Mike Demuth
Dr Alain Pietroniro
Dr Kevin Shook
Dr John Pomeroy
Jan 21st
Final exam (credit students only)
Contact Hours and Schedule
Lectures will be held in an intensive 10-day period at the Biogeoscience Institute, Barrier Lake Field Station, Kananaskis Valley, Alberta starting January 10th, 2018. Dr Pomeroy will be available on site during the whole period and by e-mail afterwards: individual instructors will be available for portions of the course, corresponding to their lecture day and the next day. The final examination (two hours) will be given on the last day of the course. Exercises and literature review are due four weeks after completion of the course.
Marking and Evaluation
Students taking the course for credit will be evaluated with a final exam (20%), a literature review on a hydrological process selected in consultation with Dr Pomeroy (30%), and five quantitative exercises (10% each for 50%). These will include;
Micrometeorology and evapotranspiration
Groundwater hydrology
Snow accumulation, glaciers and melt
Soil and hillslope hydrology
River basin hydrology and hydraulics
Audit students are only required to complete the five quantitative exercises.
All students are required to enroll in Geography 827 at the University of Saskatchewan in either an audit or credit capacity. Options are available to switch between these for some time after the course. See below for more details.
All students attending will receive a certificate from CSHS recognizing their participation in the course. Those that attend and complete the assignments will receive a certificate from CSHS stating they have completed the course. All others will receive a certificate from CSHS stating that they attended the course.
Course Texts and Readings
Students are highly encouraged to purchase the following two texts for use at the course.
Physical Hydrology, 3rd Edition, S.L. Dingman, 2014:
Waveland Press, Long Grove, IL, ISBN 978-1-47861-118-9
(Available from November in the U of S Bookstore)
The Surface Climates of Canada, W.G. Bailey, T.R. Oke and W.R. Rouse, 1998:
Montreal: McGill-Queen's Univ Press
(Available on Amazon)
Handouts and readings will be distributed via PAWS (University of Saskatchewan student web services).
Registration
Please note that both logistics fees and tuition fees are payable by all course participants, whether they are students or professionals, and attending for audit or credit.
The logistics fees, which cover the use of the facilities, meals and accommodation, are payable to the CSHS: tuition fees are payable to the U of S. Both vary with your status (e.g., student or professional), and are detailed below.
There are thus two stages involved in registering for the course, as follows:
Stage 1: Registration With CSHS, and Payment of Logistics Fees.
Logistics fees, which cover the use of facilities, and meals and accommodation at the Biogeoscience Institute, are as follows:
Status
CWRA Member?
Fee
Student
Yes
$1000
Student
No
$1030
Professional
Yes
$2500
Professional
No, But eligible for Young Professional membership
$2550
Professional
No
$2605
Please follow this link to register with the CSHS for the course, and to pay these fees.
Cancellations
Registrants who cancel will be refunded 85% of these logistics fees, but only if their cancellation is received in writing by the organizers before 1st December, 2017. No refunds will be possible after this date, for any reason.
Stage 2: Registration With the U of S, and Payment of Tuition Fees.
All participants must apply for registration as a graduate student with the University of Saskatchewan, and must therefore satisfy the university's admission requirements, which are detailed here.
When registering, please use the following details:
Class GEOG 827.3 (02) (T2)
CRN 23158
Session 201801
Fees are payable by all participants, but vary with your status (student or professional, whether you are attending for audit or credit, and - if you are a student - the institution at which you are studying).
To see details of the appropriate process for registration and fee-payment,
If you are currently a student, and your institution is shown in the drop-down list below, selecting it will display the relevant information
If you are not a student, or your institution is not listed, please choose the Professional or Institution Not Listed option:
Student fees may apply, and should be paid to the University of Saskatchewan.
To participate in the course, you will be required to register as a non-degree graduate student, and to pay the tuition and associated fees detailed below.
Note that sections 1 and 2 on this page do not apply for this course. Please read and follow all other instructions carefully!
You will be asked to select the appropriate type of application: please choose Graduate (E) Non-Degree.
If you did not attend the U of S, and are not currently employed as a U of S Post-Doctoral Fellow, you will be asked to include unofficial copies of transcripts of all post-secondary education with your application.
You will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee of C$90. If the online payment option within the application does not work for any reason, please pay using this credit card form.
Once your application is approved, you will be sent (by e-mail) an offer to accept admission to the course.
At this point, you will also be asked to arrange for official transcripts of post-secondary education to be supplied: these must be sent directly from the issuing institution(s) (as detailed in the Documents Required section).
Please order your official transcripts before December 1, 2017 to allow time for them to arrive and for processing. Not doing so may delay your registration, and potentially prevent you from participating in the course.
The issuing institution(s) should mail the official transcript(s) to the following address:
College of Graduate Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Attn: Jordan Heise)
Room 116, Thorvaldson Building
110 Science Place
Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C9
Opt to take the course for credit or audit:
If you are taking the course for credit:
Before completing the online registration for the class through PAWS, you will first need to obtain departmental permission: please send your new student number to Phyllis Baynes (mouseover for e-mail), so that she can provide this authorization for you.
Graduate students currently registered at the University of Saskatchewan should register through PAWS after receiving permission from Dr John Pomeroy (eMail). Students must complete the Course Override / Late Registration Form and deliver to the address below.
If you would like to request transfer of credit to your home institution, please order your transcript for the course directly through your PAWS account or this link.
Withdrawal from Course, or Switching from Credit to Audit
If after taking the course you decide to withdraw or switch from credit to audit, please contact U of S Student Central (e-mail, or phone 1-877-650-1212) for details. If you do so by 10th February 2018, you will receive a 50% reduction in the tuition fee. It is still possible to switch from credit to audit until 26th March 2018, but there will be no reduction in the tuition fee.
For further information...
For questions about course content - Prof. John Pomeroy (e-mail)