I suppose there are two broad groups – one would be about the flow and movement of water and the other would be about what’s in the water. For the first we would measure the depth of water in rivers and the width of the channels. Then we’d measure the speed of the water – you can do this too by putting leaves or twigs in a river and seeing how long it takes them to go a particular distance. When we have that information we multiply the depth x width x velocity to give us the flow. If you do this over time – during the winter and summer – we can work out the range of flows.
For the second we take water samples and analyze them to see what’s in them. Water always tells the story of where it’s come from and what it’s been in contact with so looking at the chemistry helps us do this.
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