The general structure of hydrologic sciences is discussed in relation to a formulation of the water balance based on ecological optimality and spatio- temporal scaling of flow and transport over disordered networks. The basic physical controls on the function of Earth’s vegetation are discussed. The paper addresses how the curriculum of hydrology can be improved through addressing the components necessary to understand optimal approaches to solve the water balance equation and related hydrological problems. The implications for the past, and future status of hydrology are considered in light of what progress the community has actually made in solving the water balance. The arguments are evaluated by comparing new water balance results with existing theory and with continental- scale evapotranspiration measurements.
Hunt et al. (Thu,) studied this question.