Streamflow routing provides a set of methods for describing and predicting the movement of water from one point to another along a river. Typically, this process involves predicting the shape of a hydrograph downstream from a particular location in a channel, reservoir, or lake. This first requires an understanding of the basic flow regimes and how water is stored and released within a channel. From there, information and calculations based on flow and channel bed characteristics are implemented in hydrologic routing methods, which are storage-based, and hydraulic routing methods, which utilize fully-dynamic equations. This module offers a thorough introduction to these routing concepts and processes through illustrations, animations and sample exercises, with a primary focus on hydrologic routing methods.
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