Electronic Computers in Watershed Research

Electronic computers have been found to be useful to the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in carrying out soil and water research—both in the processing of raw data and in the analysis of this data. In the first step of processing of raw data, the mechanical chart-reader is used to transfer basic measurements of, for example, time and stage to punch cards; in the second step, the basic measurements are reduced to rates and accumulated amounts by the electronic computer. Some of the analytical studies where computers have been used include those aimed towards developing water budgets, investigating channel hydraulics, and testing of various mathematical and statistical models of hydrologic processes.