Hydrology Terminology
- The flow and its effect on the environment and the human population depends on quantity, timing, velocity, and wave speed.
- The quantity of the flow is the volume of water, while the peak flow is generally of greatest interest.
- The timing of the flow is based on when a storm event occurs. If it occurs when a river is already close to flood stage, it will have a greater impact than if it occurred over a river that was relatively low. The time to peak, time of concentration, lag time, response time, and duration are all of great concern.