**Water Cycle Process Research: Experiments and Observations Observations**

**Water Cycle Process Research: Experiments and** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.70545

Lihu Yang, Xianfang Song and Yunfeng Qiao Lihu Yang, Xianfang Song and Yunfeng Qiao Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70545

#### **Abstract**

[41] Bujalský L, Jirka V, Zemek F, Frouz J. Relationships between the normalised difference vegetation index and temperature fluctuations in post-mining sites. International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment. 2017. DOI: 10.1080/17480930.2017.1278659 [42] Gerwin W, Schaaf W, Biemelt D, Fischer A, Winter S, Hüttle RF. The artificial catchment "Chicken Creek" (Lusatia, Germany) a landscape laboratory for interdisciplinary stud-

106 Hydrology of Artificial and Controlled Experiments

ies of initial ecosystem development. Ecological Engineering. 2009;**35**:1786-1796

The evaluation of methods and instrumentation for measuring water cycle parameters and for monitoring the status of hydrological process will assist governmental personnel, researchers, and water resources practitioners in determining strategies for field and laboratory measurements. This chapter aims to specify the instruments and techniques developed during the long-term monitoring phase of field experimental stations and the establishment phase of indoor experimental laboratory in the Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The two field experimental stations, Dongtaigou and Chongling, have been initiated to observe and quantify the water cycle process for more than 10 years, which has formed a complete set of observing and experimental methods in watershed. The experimental laboratory is a new integrated water cycle experiment platform, based on the new technology integrated control, measurement, sensors, and information processing. It includes artificial rainfall system, experimental sink of runoff and erosion, river simulation system, and transformation dynamical processes experimental device among precipitation, vegetation water, surface water, soil water, and groundwater. The continued instrumentation development and advanced experimental strategies will serve as a first port of call for professionals studying the behavior of water footprint.

**Keywords:** field station, experimental laboratory, instruments and techniques, water cycle, experiments and observations

#### **1. Introduction**

An understanding of water cycle processes is essential for assessing water resources as well as the changes to the resources caused by changes in the land use or climate. Experimentation and observation are central activities within the water cycle process research. The range

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© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons

of measuring and monitoring instrumentation and techniques for defining water cycle process variables is immense. Hence, this chapter is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of such instrumentation and techniques, but to present the specific instruments and techniques developed during the long-term monitoring phase of field experimental stations and the establishment phase of indoor experimental laboratory in the Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes (KLWCRLSP), Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research (IGSNRR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

To investigate the dynamic changes in land surface water cycle and the related geographic processes, the KLWCRLSP established two field experimental stations and one indoor experimental laboratory. One station is Dongtaigou Field Station and the other is Chongling Field Station. The experimental laboratory is experimental hall of water and soil process. To clearly demonstrate the water cycle principle, we present a chapter introducing experimental approaches. This chapter is valuable for studying mechanism of water cycle processes *in situ* as well as in the laboratory. The goal of this chapter is to illustrate the development and application of innovative experimental techniques broadly across the areas of subsurface and surface hydrology and hydrometeorology.
