CE633-ENVIRONMENTAL HYDROLOGY
FALL 2015
FINAL EXAM (Nourbakhshbeidokhti)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2015, 0900-1100

Name: __________________Red ID ___________________ Grade: ____________

Instructions: Closed book, closed notes. Use engineering paper. Please answer only 10 questions. When you are finished, staple your work in sequence, and return this sheet with your work.

  1. Is irrigated agriculture sustainable in the long run? How? If you had to design a system for the State of California, what principles would you put in practice?

  2. What is the current salt concentration in the Salton Sea? What will happen in the unlikely event that San Diego takes 50% of the water currently being used by the Imperial and Choachella valleys?

  3. What are the four sources of salts in irrigation projects? Which one is the most unaccounted for and often ignored?

  4. Describe Tulare Lake Basin's predicament. Describe its conversion from exhorreic to endorheic. What is presumably the best long-term strategy to achieve salt balance in Tulare Lake Basin?

  5. Why is Meinzer's contribution important in ecohydrology?

  6. What is the only irrigation project in the U.S. that pumps irrigation water both in and out? Why is this necessary?

  7. What geologic and geomorphologic conditions are conducive to the existence of mud volcanoes? How does this knowledge explain the mud volcanoes of the Salton Sea?

  8. Why is net recharge in groundwater flow equal to zero? Explain. What is usually a reliable quantitative indicator of regional groundwater depletion?

  9. What does the proposed solar development in McCain valley have to do in order to adhere to principles of sustainability?

  10. Successful irrigation depends not only providing ample water to the plants but also on removing the salts from the root zone in a timely fashion. Where should the salts go after removal if the system is to remain sustainable?

  11. The development of aird regions depends on an ample supply of water, which must be supplied both from surface water and groundwater. What groundwater policies are necessary in order for the overall system to remain sustainable? Describe the example of the McCain valley.

  12. Describe in one 100-word statement what have you learned in Environmental Hydrology.