Professional Diploma in Hydrological Mapping and Modeling
This professional diploma gives you the tools and knowledge to manage water resources with sound data. You will learn to produce and interpret hydrological maps with GIS and remote sensing, build and calibrate rainfall-runoff, hydraulic and basin models with HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS and SWAT, and analyze floods and droughts statistically, so that you can support informed decisions on basin planning, flood prevention and water use.
Prior knowledge check
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What is the Professional Diploma in Hydrological Mapping and Modeling?
This professional diploma takes you from the hydrological cycle to a complete flood risk study. You will study the water balance, precipitation, evapotranspiration, infiltration, runoff and river flows; GIS work with digital elevation models, automatic basin delineation, morphometry, curve number maps and precipitation interpolation, including automation with Python; remote sensing of rainfall, water bodies, evapotranspiration and floods with Sentinel, Landsat, MODIS and satellite altimetry in Google Earth Engine; rainfall-runoff modeling and flood routing in HEC-HMS; flood frequency analysis, IDF curves, drought indices and non-stationarity under climate change; 1D and 2D hydraulic modeling and flood hazard mapping in HEC-RAS; and distributed basin, sediment and nutrient modeling with SWAT.
What sets this professional diploma apart: it focuses on land-based water, river basins and floods, rather than ocean currents or marine forecasting; it works with the open and widely used tools of professional practice, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, SWAT, QGIS and Google Earth Engine; it links data, statistics and models in one workflow, from rainfall series to hazard maps; it gives specific attention to dam breaks, droughts and climate change scenarios; and the final project is a complete hydrological and hydraulic study of a basin, ending with a flood risk map and a technical report.
Program highlights
- Hydrological processes: water balance, evapotranspiration, infiltration, runoff and river regimes.
- GIS and DEMs: basin delineation, morphometry, curve number maps and Python automation.
- Remote sensing: satellite rainfall, water indices, SAR flood mapping and altimetry in the cloud.
- Modeling: HEC-HMS rainfall-runoff, HEC-RAS 1D/2D hydraulics and SWAT basin and nutrient models.
- Statistical hydrology: flood frequency, return periods, IDF curves and drought indices.
- Final project: a complete basin study with HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS and a flood risk map.
Syllabus of the Professional Diploma in Hydrological Mapping and Modeling
8 modules. Select a module to see its content.
Fundamentals of hydrology, the hydrological cycle and the water balance
- 1.1. The hydrological cycle and the river basin: the basin as a management unit, watershed boundaries and the components of the water balance
- 1.2. Precipitation and atmospheric variables: measurement with rain gauges, recording gauges and radar; calculating mean precipitation (Thiessen polygons and isohyets)
- 1.3. Evapotranspiration and hydrological losses: estimating potential (PET) and actual (AET) evapotranspiration with the Penman-Monteith, Hargreaves and Thornthwaite methods
- 1.4. Infiltration and soil moisture: the physics of infiltration, the Horton and Green-Ampt models and the NRCS curve number method (SCS-CN)
- 1.5. Surface, subsurface and groundwater runoff: flow generation mechanisms (Hortonian and saturation overland flow), baseflow separation and hydrographs
- 1.6. River regimes and flows: flow duration curves, hydrometry, gauging stations and rating curves
- 1.7. Impact of land-use change and climate variability: changes in hydrological response due to urbanization, deforestation and climate change scenarios
- 1.8. River basins and their characterization
Geographic information systems (GIS) applied to hydrology
- 2.1. Introduction to GIS in water management: GIS principles in QGIS and ArcGIS/ArcGIS Pro for hydrological spatial analysis
- 2.2. Digital elevation models (DEM): data sources (SRTM, ALOS PALSAR, LiDAR), spatial resolution, pit filling and hydrological conditioning
- 2.3. Automatic delineation of basins and drainage networks: flow direction, flow accumulation and definition of outlets
- 2.4. Morphometric characterization of basins: area, perimeter, mean slope, form factor, Gravelius compactness coefficient and hypsometric curve
- 2.5. Processing land cover and soil data: hydrological soil groups (A, B, C, D) and calculation of a spatial curve number (CN) map
- 2.6. Spatial analysis of precipitation: interpolation with kriging, IDW (inverse distance weighting) and splines over topo-climatic surfaces
- 2.7. Automating hydrological GIS processes: tools such as WhiteboxTools and PCRaster and Python scripts (PyQGIS / ArcPy) for vector and raster analysis
- 2.8. Digital elevation models
Satellite remote sensing for hydrology and water monitoring
- 3.1. Basics of remote sensing in hydrology: the electromagnetic spectrum and the spectral signatures of water, vegetation and soil moisture
- 3.2. Satellite monitoring of precipitation: satellite rainfall products (GPM IMERG, CHIRPS, PERSIANN) and local bias correction techniques
- 3.3. Calculating water spectral indices: normalized difference water indices (NDWI, MNDWI) and vegetation indices (NDVI, SAVI) for detecting water bodies
- 3.4. Satellite estimation of evapotranspiration and moisture: thermal and infrared data (MODIS, Landsat 8/9, Sentinel-2) with the SEBAL and METRIC algorithms
- 3.5. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for floods: using Sentinel-1 to map water extent during extreme events regardless of cloud cover
- 3.6. Satellite altimetry of inland waters: monitoring levels in large rivers, lakes and reservoirs with the Jason, Sentinel-3 and SWOT missions
- 3.7. Cloud computing platforms: large-scale processing of satellite hydrological data in Google Earth Engine (GEE) and Microsoft Planetary Computer
- 3.8. Vegetation and soil moisture indices
Rainfall-runoff hydrological modeling (HEC-HMS)
- 4.1. Fundamentals of hydrological modeling: classification of models (stochastic vs deterministic, lumped vs distributed, event vs continuous)
- 4.2. Structure and set-up of the HEC-HMS model: creating the basin model, the meteorological model and the control specifications
- 4.3. Loss methods in HEC-HMS: parameterising SCS curve number, deficit and constant, and Green and Ampt
- 4.4. Rainfall-runoff transform methods: the SCS unit hydrograph, the Snyder unit hydrograph and the kinematic wave method
- 4.5. Channel flood routing: the Muskingum, Muskingum-Cunge, kinematic wave and lag methods for propagating the hydrograph through the drainage network
- 4.6. Modeling baseflow and evapotranspiration: monthly constant, linear recession and continuous soil moisture accounting (SMA)
- 4.7. Simulating structures in HEC-HMS: adding reservoirs, weirs, diversions and urban detention to the hydrological response
- 4.8. Model calibration and validation
Statistical hydrology, flood analysis and return periods
- 5.1. Frequency analysis of peak flows: annual maximum series and partial duration (POT) series
- 5.2. Probability distribution functions in hydrology: fitting Gumbel, log-Pearson type III, normal, log-normal and Weibull distributions
- 5.3. Goodness-of-fit tests: statistical checks with Kolmogorov-Smirnov, chi-square and Anderson-Darling
- 5.4. Calculating design flows for different return periods (T): estimating 10-, 25-, 50-, 100- and 500-year floods for engineering projects
- 5.5. Building intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves: design hyetographs, the alternating block method and SCS design storms (types I, IA, II and III)
- 5.6. Analysis of hydrological and meteorological droughts: the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and environmental flows (Q95)
- 5.7. Statistical uncertainty and climate change: non-stationarity in hydrological time series and projections of extreme events under IPCC scenarios (SSP/RCP)
- 5.8. Fitting probability distributions
One- and two-dimensional hydraulic modeling (HEC-RAS)
- 6.1. Principles of open-channel hydraulics: steady and unsteady flow, subcritical, critical and supercritical flow (Froude number and Manning equation)
- 6.2. Preparing geometric data with RAS Mapper: extracting cross-sections, channel centrelines, floodplains and roughness from the DEM
- 6.3. 1D hydraulic modeling in HEC-RAS: setting up cross-sections, boundary conditions (normal depth, critical depth), structures (bridges, culverts) and simulating water surface profiles
- 6.4. 2D hydraulic modeling in HEC-RAS: creating 2D meshes and edge boundary conditions and using the shallow water (2D Saint-Venant) and diffusion wave equations
- 6.5. Mapping flood zones and hazard: raster maps of depth, flow velocity, flood arrival time and the depth × velocity hazard product
- 6.6. Combined 1D/2D modeling: linking 1D main channels with complex 2D floodplains through lateral connections and levees
- 6.7. Simulating dam breaks and infrastructure failures: modeling dam breaches, flood wave propagation and emergency plans
- 6.8. Mapping flood-prone areas
Distributed basin and nutrient modeling (SWAT)
- 7.1. Fundamentals of the SWAT model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool): architecture of a continuous, large-scale hydrological model
- 7.2. Defining hydrological response units (HRUs): overlaying sub-basins, soil types, land uses and slopes
- 7.3. Simulating water cycle processes in SWAT: water balance in the unsaturated zone, shallow and deep aquifers and percolation
- 7.4. Modeling erosion and sediment transport: applying the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE) to the basin
- 7.5. Nutrient cycles and water quality: simulating the transport of nitrogen, phosphorus, pesticides and dissolved oxygen in the drainage network
- 7.6. Calibration and sensitivity analysis in SWAT (SWAT-CUP): the SUFI-2 algorithm for parameter fitting and uncertainty analysis (P-factor and R-factor)
- 7.7. Evaluating soil conservation measures (BMPs): simulating the effects of reforestation, terracing and land-use change on water yield
- 7.8. Water quality and sediment transport
Integrating project: comprehensive hydrological study, HEC-HMS/HEC-RAS modeling and flood risk map
- 8.1. Selecting the study basin and gathering baseline information: geographic delineation, DEM acquisition, thematic mapping and historical hydrometeorological series
- 8.2. Processing data in a GIS environment: generating the drainage network, calculating morphometric parameters and mapping precipitation and curve number
- 8.3. Statistical analysis of extreme rainfall: estimating design hyetographs for different return periods (T = 10, 50 and 100 years)
- 8.4. Building and calibrating the HEC-HMS hydrological model: simulating flood hydrographs at the outlet and at control points in the basin
- 8.5. Building the 2D HEC-RAS hydraulic model: transferring the HEC-HMS hydrographs to the hydraulic model to simulate flow in the channel and floodplain
- 8.6. Producing the risk maps and technical report: flood extent maps, hazard zoning and the hydrological engineering report
- 8.7. Presentation of maps and results
- 8.8. Final presentation: defending the project before a panel of specialists in hydrology, spatial numerical modeling and water resources engineering
Duration and format of the Professional Diploma in Hydrological Mapping and Modeling
It is 800 hours. Tell us how many you can study each week and we will tell you when you will really finish.
This is the pace at which most students finish. It fits well with the installment plan.
Academic leadership and faculty
The Navalis teaching team: working professionals who teach and supervise the programs.
Dr. Marina AlcoverAcademic Director and Head of Quality Assurance
Eng. Diego CifuentesSenior Lecturer in Naval Welding and Non-Destructive Testing; Head of QA/QC for Welded Joints
Capt. Javier Abaroa (MCA)Senior Lecturer in Ship Handling, Electronic Navigation (ECDIS/Radar/ARPA) and GMDSS; STCW Compliance and Bridge Resource Management Coordinator
Dr. Pau FerrerSenior Lecturer in Naval Architecture and Simulation; Director of the Hydrodynamics and CFD Laboratory
Dr. Nuria LlobregatSenior Lecturer in Marine Meteorology, SAR and Operational Safety; Navigation Risk Management Coordinator
Eng. Javier BañulsSenior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Automation and ETO Engineering; Electronic Integration and Engine Alarms Coordinator
Eng. Sofía MarquinaSenior Lecturer in Materials, Composites and Corrosion Protection; Coordinator of the Advanced Paints and Coatings Line
Eng. Tomás RieraSenior Lecturer in Propulsion, Alternative Energy and Hybrid Systems; Energy Performance and Vibration CoordinatorObjectives of the Professional Diploma in Hydrological Mapping and Modeling
Career opportunities after the Professional Diploma in Hydrological Mapping and Modeling
Questions about the Professional Diploma in Hydrological Mapping and Modeling
The use of geographic information systems, remote sensing and computer models to analyze and predict the behavior of water in river basins, for water resources management, flood prevention and water quality analysis.
QGIS and ArcGIS for spatial analysis, Google Earth Engine for satellite data, HEC-HMS for rainfall-runoff, HEC-RAS for 1D and 2D hydraulics and SWAT for distributed basin and nutrient modeling.
No. It focuses on hydrology on land: rainfall, rivers, basins, floods and droughts. Ocean currents and marine forecasting are covered in other Navalis programs.
It is not required. Python scripts are introduced to automate GIS processes, but the core of the diploma relies on the graphical interfaces of the modeling tools.
Yes. You study flood frequency, design storms, hydraulic flood mapping and dam breaks, as well as drought indices such as SPI and SPEI and environmental flows.
You carry out a complete study of a basin: GIS processing, rainfall statistics, a calibrated HEC-HMS model, a 2D HEC-RAS model and a flood risk map with a technical report.
Fully online, through a virtual campus available 24/7, with live sessions that are recorded and tutorials with the teaching staff.
The professional diploma comprises 800 hours of study across 8 modules of about 100 hours each and ends with a final project. You can progress at your own pace within the schedule set when you enroll.
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Admission process
No waiting for a call back. If your documents are in order, you can enroll in the same session.
- Profile: aimed at civil, environmental and water resources engineers, river basin technicians and managers, environmental consultants, researchers, and agriculture and land management professionals. A degree in civil or environmental engineering, geology, environmental sciences, geography or a related field, or demonstrable experience in hydrology or water resources, is recommended; basic knowledge of hydrology, statistics and GIS software is an advantage.
- Language: sufficient command of English to follow the classes and the technical documentation.
- Technical resources: a computer with a broadband internet connection, software for viewing documents and the ability to install the modeling and GIS software indicated before the start.
- Admission: online application, review of your profile and a short interview with the academic team.
- 01ApplicationYour details, background and documents.
- 02Instant reviewWe check that everything is complete and in order.
- 03EnrollmentChoose full payment or instalments and reserve your place.
Admission is provisional until the committee validates the documents provided. If you do not meet the requirements, the full amount is refunded.
Ask us before you enroll
Leave your details and admissions will write to you to answer any questions. If you are already sure, you can apply and pay in the same session.