Catchment hydrology

Catchments often do not last for long periods of time as the water evaporates, drains into the soil, or is consumed by animals.

[1] Catchment zones collect water from various sources such as surface runoff from snow cover and glaciers, and subsurface flow from groundwater, precipitation, and aquifers.

[2] Deposition from fog and clouds is another source of water for catchment zones.

The best studied catchments cover small areas because of the difficulty of these measurements.

These measurements are used to obtain the change in water storage over time using the equation of continuity.