Specific energy

From Glossary of Meteorology



specific energy

In hydrology, the total energy per unit weight of fluid, at any cross section of a channel, measured above the channel bottom.

The equation for specific energy, E, is
ams2001glos-Se41
where y is the depth of flow, v is the average velocity, and g is the gravitational attraction.


Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact permissions@ametsoc.org. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.