scholarly journals A Framework for Planning and Evaluating the Role of Urban Stream Restoration for Improving Transportation Resilience to Extreme Rainfall Events

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1620
Author(s):  
Barbara A. Doll ◽  
J. Jack Kurki-Fox ◽  
Daniel E. Line
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Stream Restoration ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Hydraulic Modeling ◽  
Urban Stream ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Combination Approach

Recent extreme rainfall events produced severe flooding across North Carolina’s Coastal Plain, revealing deep vulnerabilities in many communities. Climate change is expected to exacerbate these problems by further increasing rainfall intensity and the frequency of extreme rainfall events. Due to the risks posed by these changing rainfall patterns, a shift in the approach to infrastructure planning and management is needed for many floodprone communities, particularly in regard to managing streams and floodplains in urban areas. This study proposes a framework for systematically evaluating stream restoration in combination with engineered improvements to culvert and bridge crossings to identify and optimize options for mitigating extreme events in urban areas. To illustrate the methodology, extensive hydraulic modeling was conducted to test four different strategies for reducing flooding along a channelized and armored stream, Big Ditch, located in Goldsboro, North Carolina, USA. The results indicate that neither floodplain restoration nor infrastructure modification alone could alleviate flooding along Big Ditch. Rather, a combination approach would be required to mitigate flooding, which could result in substantial benefits for storms in excess of the 100-year event. The results suggest that shifting to a multi-faceted approach to improve resiliency to extreme events could improve public safety and reduce future damages due to flooding.

scholarly journals Extreme Rainfall in the Mediterranean: What Can We Learn from Observations?

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 906-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Rebora ◽  
L. Molini ◽  
E. Casella ◽  
A. Comellas ◽  
E. Fiori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽  
Ground Effects

Abstract Flash floods induced by extreme rainfall events represent one of the most life-threatening phenomena in the Mediterranean. While their catastrophic ground effects are well documented by postevent surveys, the extreme rainfall events that generate them are still difficult to observe properly. Being able to collect observations of such events will help scientists to better understand and model these phenomena. The recent flash floods that hit the Liguria region (Italy) between the end of October and beginning of November 2011 give us the opportunity to use the measurements available from a large number of sensors, both ground based and spaceborne, to characterize these events. In this paper, the authors analyze the role of the key ingredients (e.g., unstable air masses, moist low-level jets, steep orography, and a slow-evolving synoptic pattern) for severe rainfall processes over complex orography. For the two Ligurian events, this role has been analyzed through the available observations (e.g., Meteosat Second Generation, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, the Italian Radar Network mosaic, and the Italian rain gauge network observations). The authors then address the possible role of sea–atmosphere interactions and propose a characterization of these events in terms of their predictability.

scholarly journals Spatial Heterogeneity Analysis of Short-Duration Extreme Rainfall Events in Megacities in China

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Zhuang ◽  
Shuguang Liu ◽  
Zhengzheng Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Short Duration ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Spatial Association ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Flood Frequency Analysis ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Design Storm

Given the fact that researchers require more specific spatial rainfall information for storm flood calculation, hydrological risk assessment, and water budget estimates, there is a growing need to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of rainfall accurately. This paper provides insight into rainfall spatial heterogeneity in urban areas based on statistical analysis methods. An ensemble of short-duration (3-h) extreme rainfall events for four megacities in China are extracted from a high-resolution gridded rainfall dataset (resolution of 30 min in time, 0.1° × 0.1° in space). Under the heterogeneity framework using Moran’s I, LISA (Local Indicators of Spatial Association), and semi-variance, the multi-scale spatial variability of extreme rainfall is identified and assessed in Shanghai (SH), Beijing (BJ), Guangzhou (GZ), and Shenzhen (SZ). The results show that there is a pronounced spatial heterogeneity of short-duration extreme rainfall in the four cities. Heterogeneous characteristics of rainfall within location, range, and directions are closely linked to the different urban growth in four cities. The results also suggest that the spatial distribution of rainfall cannot be neglected in the design storm in urban areas. This paper constitutes a useful contribution to quantifying the degree of spatial heterogeneity and supports an improved understanding of rainfall/flood frequency analysis in megacities.

scholarly journals Assessing the Performance of Satellite-Based Products for Monitoring Extreme Rainfall Events in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Montes ◽  
Nachiketa Acharya ◽  
Quamrul Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Ground Truth Data ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Variable Performance

This work focuses on the analysis of the performance of satellite-based precipitation products for monitoring extreme rainfall events. Five precipitation products are inter-compared and evaluated in capturing indices of extreme rainfall events during 1998-2019 considering four indices of extreme rainfall. Satellite products show a variable performance, which in general indicates that the occurrence and amount of rainfall of extreme events can be both underestimated or overestimated by the datasets in a systematic way throughout the country. Also, products that consider the use of ground truth data have the best performance.

scholarly journals ­Trends and Zonal Variability of Extreme Rainfall Events Over East Africa During 1960-2017

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moses.A Ojara ◽  
Yunsheng Lou ◽  
Hasssen Babaousmail ◽  
Peter Wasswa
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Rainwater Harvesting ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Fluctuation Analysis ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Events

Abstract East African countries (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi) are prone to weather extreme events. In this regard; the past occurrence of extreme rainfall events is analyzed for 25 stations following the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI) regression method. Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) is used to show the future development of extreme events. Pearson’s correlation analysis is performed to show the relationship of extreme events between different rainfall zones and their association with El Niño -Southern Oscillation (ENSO and Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) IOD-DMI indices. Results revealed that the consecutive wet day's index (CWD) was decreasing trend in 72% of the stations analyzed, moreover consecutive dry days (CDD) index also indicated a positive trend in 44% of the stations analyzed. Heavy rainfall days index (R10mm) showed a positive trend at 52% of the stations and was statistically significant at a few stations. In light of the extremely heavy rainfall days (R25mm) index, 56% of the stations revealed a decreasing trend for the index and statistically significant trend at some stations. Further, a low correlation coefficient of extreme rainfall events in the regions; and between rainfall extreme indices with the atmospheric teleconnection indices (Dipole Mode Index-DMI and Nino 3.4) (r = -0.1 to r = 0.35). Most rainfall zones showed a positive correlation between the R95p index and DMI, while 5/8 of the rainfall zones experienced a negative correlation between Nino 3.4 index and the R95p. In light of the highly variable trends of extremes events, we recommend planning adaptation and mitigation measures that consider the occurrence of such high variability. Measures such as rainwater harvesting, stored and used during needs, planned settlement, and improved drainage systems management supported by accurate climate and weather forecasts is highly advised.

Watershed Hydrological and Chemical Responses to Precipitation Variability in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Schaefer
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Precipitation Variability ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
The North ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
The North Atlantic

Variations in temperature and precipitation are both components of climate variability. Based on coral growth rates measured near Puerto Rico, the Caribbean was 2–3ºC cooler during the “Little Ice Age” during the seventeenth century (Winter et al. 2000). At the millennial scale, temperature variations in tropical regions have been inferred to have substantial biological effects (such as speciation and extinction), but not at the multidecadal timescales considered here. My focus is on precipitation variability in particular, because climate models examining effects of increased greenhouse gases suggest greater changes in precipitation than in temperature patterns in tropical regions. Some correspondence between both the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Northern Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and average temperatures and total annual precipitation have been reported for the LTER site at Luquillo (Greenland 1999; Greenland and Kittel 2002), but those studies did not refer to extreme events. Based on climate records for Puerto Rico since 1914, Malmgren et al. (1997) found small increases in air temperature during El Niño years and somewhat greater total rainfall during the positive phase of the NAO. Similar to ENSO, the NAO index is characterized by differences in sea-level atmospheric pressure, in this case based on measurements in Iceland and Portugal (Walker and Bliss 1932). Its effects on climate have largely been described in terms of temperature and precipitation anomalies in countries bordering the North Atlantic (e.g., Hurrell 1995). Puerto Rico is in the North Atlantic hurricane zone, and hurricanes clearly play a major role in precipitation variability. The association between extreme rainfall events and hurricanes is discussed in detail in this chapter. I examine the degree to which extreme rainfall events are associated with hurricanes and other tropical storms. I discuss whether the occurrence of these extreme events has changed through time in Puerto Rico or can be linked to the recurrent patterns of the ENSO or the NAO. I examine the 25-year daily precipitation record for the Luquillo LTER site, the 90-year monthly record from the nearest site to Luquillo with such a long record, Fajardo, and those of the two other Puerto Rico stations with the longest daily precipitation records, Manati and Mayaguez (figure 8.1).

Cross–Time Scale Interactions and Rainfall Extreme Events in Southeastern South America for the Austral Summer. Part II: Predictive Skill

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (16) ◽  
pp. 5915-5934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Á. G. Muñoz ◽  
L. Goddard ◽  
S. J. Mason ◽  
A. W. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Weather Types ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Predictive Skill

Abstract Potential and real predictive skill of the frequency of extreme rainfall in southeastern South America for the December–February season are evaluated in this paper, finding evidence indicating that mechanisms of climate variability at one time scale contribute to the predictability at another scale; that is, taking into account the interference of different potential sources of predictability at different time scales increases the predictive skill. Part I of this study suggested that a set of daily atmospheric circulation regimes, or weather types, was sensitive to these cross–time scale interferences, conducive to the occurrence of extreme rainfall events in the region, and could be used as a potential predictor. At seasonal scale, a combination of those weather types indeed tends to outperform all the other candidate predictors explored (i.e., sea surface temperature patterns, phases of the Madden–Julian oscillation, and combinations of both). Spatially averaged Kendall’s τ improvements of 43% for the potential predictability and 23% for real-time predictions are attained with respect to standard models considering sea surface temperature fields alone. A new subseasonal-to-seasonal predictive methodology for extreme rainfall events is proposed based on probability forecasts of seasonal sequences of these weather types. The cross-validated real-time skill of the new probabilistic approach, as measured by the hit score and the Heidke skill score, is on the order of twice that associated with climatological values. The approach is designed to offer useful subseasonal-to-seasonal climate information to decision-makers interested not only in how many extreme events will happen in the season but also in how, when, and where those events will probably occur.

scholarly journals Long-Term Temporal Variation of Extreme Rainfall Events in Australia: 1910–2006

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 950-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guobin Fu ◽  
Neil R. Viney ◽  
Stephen P. Charles ◽  
Jianrong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Recurrence Interval ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events

Abstract The temporal variability of the frequency of short-duration extreme precipitation events in Australia for the period 1910–2006 is examined using the high-quality rainfall dataset identified by the Bureau of Meteorology, Australia, for 189 stations. Extreme events are defined by duration and recurrence interval: 1, 5, 10, and 30 days, and 1, 5, and 20 yr, respectively. The results indicate that temporal variations of the extreme precipitation index (EPI) for various durations and recurrence intervals in the last 100 yr, except for the low frequencies before 1918, have experienced three U-shaped cycles: 1918–53, 1953–74, and 1974–2006. Seasonal results indicate that about two-thirds of 1-day, 1-yr recurrence interval extreme events occur from December to March. Time series of anomalies of the regional EPIs for four regions indicate that northeast Australia and southeast Australia have almost the same temporal variation as the national anomalies, South Australia experienced a negative anomaly of extreme rainfall events in the mid-1950s, and southwest Western Australia (SWWA) experienced relatively small temporal variation. The relationships between extreme rainfall events and the Southern Oscillation index (SOI) and the interdecadal Pacific oscillation (IPO) indicate that extreme rainfall events in Australia have a strong relationship with both, especially during La Niña years and after 1942.

scholarly journals ENSO and Extreme Rainfall Events in South America

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1589-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice M. Grimm ◽  
Renata G. Tedeschi
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Enso Cycle ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
La Nina

Abstract The influence of the opposite phases of ENSO on the frequency of extreme rainfall events over South America is analyzed for each month of the ENSO cycle on the basis of a large set of daily station rainfall data and compared with the influence of ENSO on the monthly total rainfall. The analysis is carried out with station data and their gridded version and the results are consistent. Extreme events are defined as 3-day mean precipitation above the 90th percentile. The mean frequencies of extreme events are determined for each month and for each category of year (El Niño, La Niña, and neutral), and the differences between El Niño and neutral years and La Niña and neutral years are computed. Changes in the mean intensity of extreme events are also investigated. Significant ENSO signals in the frequency of extreme events are found over extensive regions of South America during different periods of the ENSO cycle. Although ENSO-related changes in intensity show less significance and spatial coherence, there are some robust changes in several regions, especially in southeastern South America. The ENSO-related changes in the frequency of extreme rainfall events are generally coherent with changes in total monthly rainfall quantities. However, significant changes in extremes are much more extensive than the corresponding changes in monthly rainfall because the highest sensitivity to ENSO seems to be in the extreme range of daily precipitation. This is important, since the most dramatic consequences of climate variability result from changes in extreme events. The pattern of frequency changes produced by El Niño and La Niña episodes with respect to neutral years is roughly symmetric, but there are several examples of nonlinearity in the ENSO regional teleconnections.

scholarly journals Cross–Time Scale Interactions and Rainfall Extreme Events in Southeastern South America for the Austral Summer. Part I: Potential Predictors

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (19) ◽  
pp. 7894-7913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Á. G. Muñoz ◽  
L. Goddard ◽  
A. W. Robertson ◽  
Y. Kushnir ◽  
W. Baethgen
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Extreme ◽  
Moisture Advection ◽  
Basic Set

Abstract The physical mechanisms and predictability associated with extreme daily rainfall in southeastern South America (SESA) are investigated for the December–February season in a two-part study. Through a k-mean analysis, this first paper identifies a robust set of daily circulation regimes that are used to link the frequency of rainfall extreme events with large-scale potential predictors at subseasonal-to-seasonal scales. This represents a basic set of daily circulation regimes related to the continental and oceanic phases of the South Atlantic convergence zone (SACZ) and wave train patterns superimposed on the Southern Hemisphere polar jet. Some of these recurrent synoptic circulation types are conducive to extreme rainfall events in the region through synoptic control of different mesoscale physical features and, at the same time, are influenced by climate phenomena that could be used as sources of potential predictability. Extremely high rainfall (as measured by the 95th and 99th percentiles) is associated with two of these weather types (WTs), which are characterized by moisture advection intrusions from lower latitudes and the Pacific Ocean; another three WTs, characterized by above-normal moisture advection toward lower latitudes or the Andes, are associated with dry days (days with no rain). The analysis permits the identification of several subseasonal-to-seasonal scale potential predictors that modulate the occurrence of circulation regimes conducive to extreme rainfall events in SESA. It is conjectured that a cross–time scale interaction between the different climate drivers improves the predictive skill of extreme precipitation in the region.

scholarly journals Simulation of extreme rainfall and streamflow events in small Mediterranean watersheds with a one-way coupled atmospheric-hydrologic modelling system

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corrado Camera ◽  
Adriana Bruggeman ◽  
George Zittis ◽  
Ioannis Sofokleous ◽  
Joël Arnault
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Events ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Hydrologic Models ◽  
Hydrologic Modelling ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Mountain Watersheds ◽  
Small Watersheds ◽  
The One

Abstract. Few studies evaluate the hydrologic performance of coupled atmospheric-hydrologic models when forced with observed rainfall and even fewer when forced with modelled precipitation. This information is crucial for the study of floods and in general for the use of the models for water management purposes. This study's objectives were: (i) to calibrate the one-way coupled WRF-hydro model for simulating extreme events in Cyprus with observed precipitation; and (ii) to evaluate the model performance when forced with WRF-downscaled (1 × 1 km2) re-analysis precipitation data (ERA-Interim). Streamflow was modelled during extreme rainfall events that occurred in January 1989 and November 1994 over 22 mountain watersheds. In six watersheds, Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiencies (NSE) larger than 0.5 were obtained for both events. The WRF-modelled rainfall showed an average NSE of 0.83 for January 1989 and 0.49 for November 1994. Nevertheless, hydrologic simulations of the two events with the WRF-modelled rainfall and the calibrated WRF-Hydro returned negative streamflow NSE for 13 watersheds in January 1989 and for 18 watersheds in November 1994. These results indicate that small differences in amounts or shifts in time or space of modelled rainfall, in comparison with observed precipitation, can strongly modify the hydrologic response of small watersheds to extreme events. Thus, the calibration of WRF-Hydro for small watersheds depends on the availability of observed rainfall with high temporal and spatial resolution. However, the use of modelled precipitation input data will remain important for studying the effect of future extremes on flooding and water resources.

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