Abbreviations and technical terms
Some abbreviations and terms commonly encountered in technical reports, authority review, EIA and project processes are summarized below. This section is provided for general information; study scope is evaluated according to project type, site conditions and authority requirements.
Authority abbreviations
- DSİ — State Hydraulic Works of Türkiye
- EIA — Environmental Impact Assessment
- PTD — Project Description File
- ESIA — Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
- ESMP — Environmental and Social Management Plan
- SEA — Strategic Environmental Assessment
Water-system abbreviations
- GW — Groundwater
- GS — Gauging Station
- GWL — Groundwater Level
- Q — Discharge
- K — Hydraulic Conductivity
- MAR — Managed Aquifer Recharge
Spatial-analysis abbreviations
- GIS — Geographic Information Systems
- RS — Remote Sensing
- DEM — Digital Elevation Model
- LULC — Land Use / Land Cover
- RUSLE — Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation
- UAV — Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Energy and infrastructure abbreviations
- SPP — Solar Power Plant
- WPP — Wind Power Plant
- HPP — Hydroelectric Power Plant
- OIZ — Organized Industrial Zone
- ETL — Energy Transmission Line
- WSF — Waste Storage Facility
Technical terms
Short explanations of selected technical concepts commonly used in hydrogeology, hydrology, modeling and geoinformatics studies.
Aquifer
A geological unit that can store and transmit groundwater.
Water balance
The joint evaluation of water inputs, outputs and storage changes within a system.
Streamflow transposition
The adaptation of flow data from a gauging station to another location by considering comparable basin conditions.
Basin
A topographic area where surface runoff drains toward a common outlet.
Drainage network
The system formed by streams, channels and surface runoff pathways within an area.
Flood analysis
The evaluation of flood potential based on rainfall, runoff, basin characteristics and channel conditions.
Dewatering
Technical measures used to control groundwater level or inflow in excavation, mining or construction areas.
Impact area
The area where hydrological or hydrogeological conditions may change due to an activity, abstraction, drainage or project.
Environmental flow
The water regime that should be maintained in a river or wetland system to sustain ecosystem functions.
Hydrogeological model
A conceptual or numerical representation of a groundwater system with geological, hydraulic and boundary conditions.
Erosion susceptibility
The classification of erosion tendency based on land, slope, rainfall, soil and land-use characteristics.
Spatial analysis
The assessment of georeferenced data through mapping, database and analysis methods.
Hydrocensus
An inventory of wells, springs, streams, ponds and other water points with their location, use, level, discharge and basic field characteristics.
Hydrostratigraphy
The classification of geological units as aquifers, aquitards or aquifuges according to their groundwater storage and transmission properties.
Recharge and discharge
Processes through which water enters a groundwater system and leaves it through springs, streams, wells, evapotranspiration or other pathways.
Baseflow
The component of streamflow that is generally sustained by groundwater discharge during periods without rainfall.
Pumping and recovery test
Monitoring water-level changes during controlled pumping and after pumping stops to assess aquifer hydraulic properties.
Transmissivity, storativity and specific yield
Key parameters describing an aquifer’s capacity to transmit water and the amount of water stored or released in response to a change in hydraulic head.
Conceptual model
A data-based technical framework describing system geology, water inputs and outputs, flow directions, boundaries and interactions.
Boundary condition
A condition defining how water level, flow or exchange is represented at model boundaries and selected internal zones.
Calibration and validation
Adjustment of model parameters to reproduce observations, followed by testing model behavior against an independent period or dataset.
Sensitivity and uncertainty
Assessment of how parameter or assumption changes affect results and how data or model limitations contribute to prediction ranges.
Contaminant transport
Assessment of a substance’s movement through a water system by advection, dispersion, diffusion and, where relevant, reaction processes.
QA/QC and metadata
Data accuracy, completeness and consistency controls together with records describing source, date, method, coordinate system and limitations of use.
Georeferencing
Assigning a map, plan or image to a real-world coordinate system using known control points.
Spatial resolution
The ground area represented by one pixel in raster or image data, affecting the smallest spatial detail that can be distinguished.
Change detection and classification accuracy
Identification of spatial change from datasets acquired at different dates and assessment of how closely mapped classes agree with reference data.
Review report types and technical study headings
You may review technical report types for authority review, EIA, water agencies, energy, mining, infrastructure, flood, erosion and ecosystem assessment processes.