Two-station comparison of peak flows to improve flood-frequency estimates for seven streamflow-gaging stations in the Salmon and Clearwater River Basins, Central Idaho

2003 ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 353-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Haberlandt ◽  
I. Radtke

Abstract. Derived flood frequency analysis allows the estimation of design floods with hydrological modeling for poorly observed basins considering change and taking into account flood protection measures. There are several possible choices regarding precipitation input, discharge output and consequently the calibration of the model. The objective of this study is to compare different calibration strategies for a hydrological model considering various types of rainfall input and runoff output data sets and to propose the most suitable approach. Event based and continuous, observed hourly rainfall data as well as disaggregated daily rainfall and stochastically generated hourly rainfall data are used as input for the model. As output, short hourly and longer daily continuous flow time series as well as probability distributions of annual maximum peak flow series are employed. The performance of the strategies is evaluated using the obtained different model parameter sets for continuous simulation of discharge in an independent validation period and by comparing the model derived flood frequency distributions with the observed one. The investigations are carried out for three mesoscale catchments in northern Germany with the hydrological model HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Engineering Center's Hydrologic Modeling System). The results show that (I) the same type of precipitation input data should be used for calibration and application of the hydrological model, (II) a model calibrated using a small sample of extreme values works quite well for the simulation of continuous time series with moderate length but not vice versa, and (III) the best performance with small uncertainty is obtained when stochastic precipitation data and the observed probability distribution of peak flows are used for model calibration. This outcome suggests to calibrate a hydrological model directly on probability distributions of observed peak flows using stochastic rainfall as input if its purpose is the application for derived flood frequency analysis.


1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 1161-1168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowland M. Shelley

The harpaphine xystodesmid milliped genus Isaphe, characterized by two telopodal branches and a prefemoral process that angles across the medial face of the telopodite, comprises two species. Isaphe convexa Cook occurs in montane forests of northern Idaho and Montana, and I. tersa (Cook) is known from riparian woodlands in canyons of the Snake, Salmon, and Palouse river basins in southeastern Washington and west-central Idaho. They are distinguished by the degree of dorsal convexity, strong in I. convexa and weak in I. tersa, and by the length of the prefemoral process, which is long and slender and extends well beyond the caudal margin of the telopodite stem in I. convexa, and is short and broad and terminates well before the margin in I. tersa. The strong convexity in I. convexa results from greater expression of the dorsal curvature than is the case in most xystodesmids because of a lower than usual origin of the paranota, rather than from depression of the latter. The following new synonymies are proposed: Hybaphe Cook under Isaphe Cook, H. curtipes Cook under I. tersa, and Leptodesmus (Isaphe) simplex Chamberlin under Harpaphe haydeniana haydeniana (Wood). Modern descriptions are provided for the genus and species, and anatomical illustrations and a distribution map are presented.


Author(s):  
Itolima Ologhadien

Flood frequency analysis is a crucial component of flood risk management which seeks to establish a quantile relationship between peak discharges and their exceedance (or non-exceedance) probabilities, for planning, design and management of infrastructure in river basins. This paper evaluates the performance of five probability distribution models using the method of moments for parameter estimation, with five GoF-tests and Q-Q plots for selection of best –fit- distribution. The probability distributions models employed are; Gumbel (EV1), 2-parameter lognormal (LN2), log Pearson type III (LP3), Pearson type III(PR3), and Generalised Extreme Value( GEV). The five statistical goodness – of – fit tests, namely; modified index of agreement (Dmod), relative root mean square error (RRMSE), Nash – Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), Percent bias (PBIAS), ratio of RMSE and standard deviation of the measurement (RSR) were used to identify the most suitable distribution models. The study was conducted using annual maximum series of nine gauge stations in both Benue and Niger River Basins in Nigeria. The study reveals that GEV was the best – fit distribution in six gauging stations, LP3 was best – fit distribution in two gauging stations, and PR3 is best- fit distribution in one gauging station. This study has provided a significant contribution to knowledge in the choice of distribution models for predicting extreme hydrological events for design of water infrastructure in Nigeria. It is recommended that GEV, PR3 and LP3 should be considered in the development of regional flood frequency using the existing hydrological map of Nigeria.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahmidah U. Ashraf ◽  
Madeleine M. Flint

Bridge collapse risk can be evaluated more rigorously if the hydrologic characteristics of bridge collapse sites are demystified, particularly for peak flows. In this study, forty-two bridge collapse sites were analyzed to find any trend in the peak flows. Flood frequency and other statistical analyses were used to derive peak flow distribution parameters, identify trends linked to flood magnitude and flood behavior (how extreme), quantify the return periods of peak flows, and compare different approaches of flood frequency in deriving the return periods. The results indicate that most of the bridge collapse sites exhibit heavy tail distribution and flood magnitudes that are well consistent when regressed over the drainage area. A comparison of different flood frequency analyses reveals that there is no single approach that is best generally for the dataset studied. These results indicate a commonality in flood behavior (outliers are expected, not random; heavy-tail property) for the collapse dataset studied and provides some basis for extending the findings obtained for the 42 collapsed bridges to other sites to assess the risk of future collapses.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 2987-3025 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. G. Strupczewski ◽  
K. Kochanek ◽  
E. Bogdanowicz ◽  
I. Markiewicz

Abstract. The Flood Frequency Analysis (FFA) concentrates on probability distribution of peak flows of flood hydrographs. However, examination of floods that haunted and devastated the large parts of Poland lead us to revision of the views on the assessment of flood risk of Polish rivers. It turned out that flooding is caused not only by overflow of the levees' crest but mostly due to the prolonged exposure to high water on levees structure causing dangerous leaks and breaches that threaten their total destruction. This is because, the levees are weakened by long-lasting water pressure and as a matter of fact their damage usually occurs after the culmination has passed the affected location. The probability of inundation is the total of probabilities of exceeding embankment crest by flood peak and the probability of washout of levees. Therefore, in addition to the maximum flow one should consider also the duration of high waters in a river channel. In the paper the new two-component model of flood dynamics: "Duration of high waters–Discharge Threshold–Probability of non-exceedance" (DqF), with the methodology of its parameters estimation was proposed as a completion to the classical FFA methods. Such model can estimate the duration of stages (flows) of an assumed magnitude with a given probability of exceedance. The model combined with the technical evaluation of probability of levees breach due to the d-days duration of flow above alarm stage gives the annual probability of inundation caused by the embankment breaking. The results of theoretical investigation were illustrated by a practical example of the model implementation to the series of daily flow of the Vistula River at Szczucin. Regardless promising results, the method of risk assessment due to prolonged exposure of levees to high water is still in its infancy despite its great cognitive potential and practical importance. Therefore, we would like to point out the need for and usefulness of the DqF model as complementary to the analysis of the flood peak flows, as in classical FFA. The presented two-component model combined with the routine flood frequency model constitutes a new direction in FFA for embanked rivers.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document