scholarly journals Socio-hydrology: conceptualising human-flood interactions

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 4515-4536 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Di Baldassarre ◽  
A. Viglione ◽  
G. Carr ◽  
L. Kuil ◽  
J. L. Salinas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flood Control ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
River System ◽  
High Water ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Control Structures ◽  
Flooding Events

Abstract. Over history, humankind has tended to settle near streams because of the role of rivers as transportation corridors and the fertility of riparian areas. However, human settlements in floodplains have been threatened by the risk of flooding. Possible responses have been to resettle away and/or modify the river system by building flood control structures. This has led to a complex web of interactions and feedback mechanisms between hydrological and social processes in settled floodplains. This paper is an attempt to conceptualise these interplays for hypothetical human-flood systems. We develop a simple, dynamic model to represent the interactions and feedback loops between hydrological and social processes. The model is then used to explore the dynamics of the human-flood system and the effect of changing individual characteristics, including external forcing such as technological development. The results show that the conceptual model is able to reproduce reciprocal effects between floods and people as well as the emergence of typical patterns. For instance, when levees are built or raised to protect floodplain areas, their presence not only reduces the frequency of flooding, but also exacerbates high water levels. Then, because of this exacerbation, higher flood protection levels are required by the society. As a result, more and more flooding events are avoided, but rare and catastrophic events take place.

scholarly journals Socio-hydrology: conceptualising human-flood interactions

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 3295-3303 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Di Baldassarre ◽  
A. Viglione ◽  
G. Carr ◽  
L. Kuil ◽  
J. L. Salinas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flood Control ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
River System ◽  
High Water ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Control Structures ◽  
Flooding Events

Abstract. Over history, humankind has tended to settle near streams because of the role of rivers as transportation corridors and the fertility of riparian areas. However, human settlements in floodplains have been threatened by the risk of flooding. Possible responses have been to resettle away and/or modify the river system by building flood control structures. This has led to a complex web of interactions and feedback mechanisms between hydrological and social processes in settled floodplains. This paper is an attempt to conceptualise these interplays for hypothetical human-flood systems. We develop a simple, dynamic model to represent the interactions and feedback loops between hydrological and social processes. The model is then used to explore the dynamics of the human-flood system and the effect of changing individual characteristics, including external forcing such as technological development. The results show that the conceptual model is able to reproduce reciprocal effects between floods and people as well as the emergence of typical patterns. For instance, when levees are built or raised to protect floodplain areas, their presence not only reduces the frequency of flooding, but also exacerbates high water levels. Then, because of this exacerbation, higher flood protection levels are required by society. As a result, more and more flooding events are avoided, but rare and catastrophic events take place.

scholarly journals PRE- and POST-STORM LiDAR SURVEYS FOR ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT ON COASTAL EROSION

2019 ◽  
Vol XLII-3/W8 ◽  
pp. 261-266
Author(s):  
A.-L. Montreuil ◽  
M. Chen ◽  
A. Esquerré ◽  
R. Houthuys ◽  
R. Moelans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Coastline Change ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Sustainable management of the coastal resources requires a better understanding of the processes that drive coastline change. The coastline is a highly dynamic sea-terrestrial interface. It is affected by forcing factors such as water levels, waves, winds, and the highest and most severe changes occur during storm surges. Extreme storms are drivers responsible for rapid and sometimes dramatic changes of the coastline. The consequences of the impacts from these events entail a broad range of social, economic and natural resource considerations from threats to humans, infrastructure and habitats. This study investigates the impact of a severe storm on coastline response on a sandy multi-barred beach at the Belgian coast. Airborne LiDAR surveys acquired pre- and post-storm covering an area larger than 1 km<sup>2</sup> were analyzed and reproducible monitoring solutions adapted to assess beach morphological changes were applied. Results indicated that the coast retreated by a maximum of 14.7 m where the embryo dunes in front of the fixed dunes were vanished and the foredune undercut. Storm surge and wave attacks were probably the most energetic there. However, the response of the coastline proxies associated with the mean high water line (MHW) and dunetoe (DuneT) was spatially variable. Based on the extracted beach features, good correlations (r>0.73) were found between coastline, berm and inner intertidal bar morphology, while it was weak with the most seaward bars covered in the surveys. This highlights the role of the upper features on the beach to protect the coastline from storm erosion by reducing wave energy. The findings are of critical importance in improving our knowledge and forecasting of coastline response to storms, and also in its translation into management practices.</p>

scholarly journals Role of intertidal wetlands for tidal and storm tide attenuation along a confined estuary: a model study

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 3181-3224 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Smolders ◽  
Y. Plancke ◽  
S. Ides ◽  
P. Meire ◽  
S. Temmerman
Keyword(s):  
Surface Area ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Spring Tide ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Storm Tide ◽  
Flood Risks ◽  
Model Study

Abstract. Coastal lowlands and estuaries are subjected to increasing flood risks during storm surges due to global and regional changes. Tidal wetlands are increasingly valued as effective natural buffers for storm surges by dissipating wave energy and providing flood water storage. While previous studies focused on flood wave attenuation within and behind wetlands, this study focuses on the effects of estuarine wetland properties on the attenuation of a storm tide that propagates along the length of an estuary. Wetland properties including elevation, surface area, and location within the estuary were investigated using a numerical model of the Scheldt estuary (Belgium, SW Netherlands). For a spring tide lower wetland elevations result in more attenuation of high water levels along the estuary, while for a higher storm tide higher elevations provide more attenuation compared to lower wetland elevations. For spring and storm tide a arger wetland surface area results in a better attenuation along the estuary up to a threshold wetland size for which larger wetlands do not further contribute to more attenuation. Finally a wetland of the same size and elevation, but located more upstream in the estuary, can store a larger proportion of the local flood volume and therefore has a larger attenuating effect on upstream high water levels. With this paper we aim to contribute towards a better understanding and wider implementation of ecosystem-based adaptation to increasing estuarine flood risks associated with storms.

Modelling the Pathways of Toxic Contaminants in the St. Clair-Detroit River System Using the Toxfate Model: The Fate of Perchloroethylene

1986 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efraim Halfon
Keyword(s):  
Half Life ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
River System ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Detroit River ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
High Volatility ◽  
Local Water

Abstract Perchloroethylene (PERC) is a heavier-than-water, soluble and volatile solvent used primarily in the dry cleaning business. Black puddles (popularly known the the “blob”), containing several contaminants inducing PERC, were reported in the St. Clair River bottom sediments downstream from Sarnia in 1984 and in 1985. The TOXFATE model is used to predict the fate of PERC and the relative importance of volatilization in relation to water transport. Simulations show that in the St. Clair-Detroit River system about 82% (78-87%). under a variety of temperature and wind conditions) of the PERC loading is volatilized, about 17% (12-21%) of loading enters Lake Erie (more in winter, less in summer) and only about 1% remains in the system. The residence half life of PERC being transported in the water from Sarnia to Lake Erie is 350-400 hours and the half life of PERC being volatilized is 80-85 hours. A sensitivity analysis shows the importance of knowing the daily loadings to compute, in real time, local water concentrations following a PERC spill. The high water levels in the St. Clair River system do not influence the fate of PERC. Given the high volatility of PERC low temperatures and wind speeds do not reduce significantly the rate of removal of PERC from the system through volatilize nation.

scholarly journals Are only floods with large discharges threatening? Flood characteristics evolution in the Yangtze River Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suning Liu ◽  
Yi Zheng ◽  
Lian Feng ◽  
Ji Chen ◽  
Venkataraman Lakshmi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Yangtze River ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Yangtze River Basin ◽  
High Water ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
The Yangtze River ◽  
The Yangtze River Basin

AbstractThis study focuses on the evolution of flood risk in the Yangtze River Basin under climate change, which is a critical issue for socioeconomic development in future. In this study, we (1) compared the 1998 and 2020 floods and found that the destructiveness of a given discharge is now greater than before; (2) revealed three issues related to the above finding; and (3) prospected the future development of up-to-date technologies to better address the issue that floods with high water levels will frequently threaten us. The outcomes of this study would be of great significance to future flood control operation of large river basins.

scholarly journals Observations of Cross-Shore Chenier Dynamics in Demak, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 972
Author(s):  
Silke A. J. Tas ◽  
Dirk S. van Maren ◽  
Ad J. H. M. Reniers
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Monsoon Season ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Observational Period ◽  
The Cross ◽  
The One ◽  
Velocity Moments

Cheniers are important for stabilising mud-dominated coastlines. A chenier is a body of wave-reworked, coarse-grained sediment consisting of sand and shells overlying a muddy substrate. In this paper we present and analyse a week of field observations of the dynamics of a single chenier along the coast of Demak, Indonesia. Despite relatively calm hydrodynamics during the one-week observational period, the chenier migrated surprisingly fast in the landward direction. The role of the tide and waves on the cross-shore chenier dynamics is explored using velocity moments as a proxy for the sediment transport. This approach shows that both tide and waves are capable of transporting the sediment of the chenier system. During calm conditions (representative for the south-east monsoon season), the tides generate a landward-directed sediment transport when the chenier crest is high relative to mean sea level. Waves only generate substantial sediment transport (direct, via skewness, and indirect, via stirring) when the chenier is submerged during periods with higher waves. The cross-shore chenier dynamics are very sensitive to the timing of tide and waves: most transport takes place when high water levels coincide with (relatively) high waves.

scholarly journals SLOPE STABILITY ASSESSMENT OF THE UPSTREAM SLOPE OF THE DRY MOUNTAIN FLOOD CONTROL RESERVOIR DURING THE FLOOD

2021 ◽  
pp. 4-12
Author(s):  
Svitlana Velychko ◽  
Olena Dupliak ◽  
Tetiana Kurbanova
Keyword(s):  
Slope Stability ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Limit Equilibrium ◽  
High Water ◽  
Limit Equilibrium Method ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
The Body ◽  
Stability Assessment ◽  
Upstream Slope

The flood control is one of the priority goal for successful economic activity on the areas that are periodically suffer from floods. Such areas are the mountainous regions of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains. Floods on the mountain rivers are repeated several times each year, and are characterized by the sudden water level rise with almost the same rapid decrease of the water level. Active flood protection measures include dry mountain flood control reservoirs, the principle of which is to transform part of the flood runoff and to accumulate water for the short time in the the artificial reservoir, with followed rapid emptying to the minimum level. The complex hydraulic regime is formed in the body of the dam which forms the flood control reservoir during the flood, that is different from the operation of the water permanent reservoir. The design of the flood control structures is car-ried out in accordance with Ukrainian building codes for the construction of the water reservoirs with constant water level, and require testing the stability of the downstream slope for the maximum water levels under steady state seepage conditions and assessment the upstream slope stability during the water level decreasing  from the maximum level calculated in the steady state condition, these calculations do not correspond to the real seepage processes in the body of the dam of the dry flood control reservoir. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to determine the necessary boundary conditions of the flood control reservoir operation and upstream slope stability assessment by the limit equilibrium method. In the article the operation of the dry mountain flood control reservoir was analysed and found that the dam was characterized by two states: dry reservoir with water minimum water level and variable position of the seepage curve in the core and the upstream prism during the flood. The main factors influencing the upstream slope stability are the physical and mechanical properties of the soil, the laying of the slope, the period of time when the high-water level is maintained and the intensity of water level dropping. The upstream slope stability was evaluated by the Morgenstern & Price and Ordinary methods on the Slope/w software package. After the first 25 hours of the flood (period of high-water levels and the next water level dropping) the Safety Factor evaluated by limit equilibrium methods began to decrease, and reached the minimum value during the greatest seepage curve gradients at the time between 45 and 50 hours. Slope stability calculations by the limit equilibrium method were compared with the results of calculations performed by the SRM method, the values ​​of the Safety Factor and the way of their change during the flood evaluated by Ordinary and SRM methods almost coincide, which indicates the reliability of the results obtained by different methods of slope stability analysis

scholarly journals Impact of Sediments and Constructions on River Flooding in Coimbra, Portugal

10.29007/v6th ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Alfeu Sa Marques ◽  
Nuno Simoes ◽  
Lucas Maluf ◽  
Fernando Seabra Santos ◽  
Jose Vieira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Flow ◽  
Sediment Accumulation ◽  
Hydrological Regime ◽  
River System ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
River Flooding ◽  
Operation Rules ◽  
Dam Operation ◽  
Upstream Part ◽  
Flooding Events

In Coimbra city, Portugal, the riverbanks have suffered several floods events in the past, due to its hydrological regime, the low slope and consequent lack of capacity of the Mondego River in its final 30 km. The construction of several dams in the upstream part of the river catchment has improved the use of the hydraulic capacity of the river system and reduced the number and intensity of flooding events in Coimbra. Nevertheless, intense rainfall events combined with inadequate procedures of the dam operation rules and lack of monitoring of sediments dynamics can still originate inundation in Coimbra such as those registered between 9th and 11th of January 2016. This work presents modelling scenarios demonstrating the influence of the sediment accumulation into the riverbed and its effect on the water levels. It also presents the influence that piers from a new bridge can have into the river flow dynamics.

scholarly journals Role of intertidal wetlands for tidal and storm tide attenuation along a confined estuary: a model study

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 1659-1675 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Smolders ◽  
Y. Plancke ◽  
S. Ides ◽  
P. Meire ◽  
S. Temmerman
Keyword(s):  
Surface Area ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
Spring Tide ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Storm Tide ◽  
Flood Risks ◽  
Model Study

Abstract. Coastal lowlands and estuaries are subjected to increasing flood risks during storm surges due to global and regional changes. Tidal wetlands are increasingly valued as effective natural buffers for storm surges by dissipating wave energy and providing flood water storage. While previous studies focused on flood wave attenuation within and behind wetlands, this study focuses on the effects of estuarine wetland properties on the attenuation of a storm tide that propagates along the length of an estuary. Wetland properties including elevation, surface area, and location within the estuary were investigated using a numerical model of the Scheldt estuary (Belgium, SW Netherlands). For a spring tide lower wetland elevations result in more attenuation of high water levels along the estuary, while for a higher storm tide higher elevations provide more attenuation compared to lower wetland elevations. For spring and storm tide a larger wetland surface area results in a better attenuation along the estuary up to a threshold wetland size for which larger wetlands do not further contribute to more attenuation. Finally a wetland of the same size and elevation, but located more upstream in the estuary, can store a larger proportion of the local flood volume and therefore has a larger attenuating effect on upstream high water levels. With this paper we aim to contribute towards a better understanding and wider implementation of ecosystem-based adaptation to increasing estuarine flood risks associated with storms.

Concept for land use based on regular inundation in the contemplated flood storage areas above Szeged (HUNGARY)

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-24
Author(s):  
Z Fodor
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Flood Regime ◽  
Land Use System ◽  
Storage Area ◽  
Partial Retention ◽  
Flood Storage

The planned improvements on the Vásárhelyi plan propose the setting up of flood storage areas along the banks of the Hungarian section of the River Tisza. Two main options have been outlined to transform the land-use system of these areas. According to the first option, the present land-use system with a dominant ratio of arable lands would remain and land-users would receive compensation if the land was used for flood control. The second option suggests a change in the structure of land use to establish a system involving regular inundation in these areas. In this case not only extremely high water levels but all floods would be led out onto these flood storage areas. One of the most important conditions for the introduction of this scenario is the flood regime of the River Tisza. This paper analyses the characteristics of this flood regime as it affects the planned flood storage area to be built near Szeged in southern Hungary on an area of approximately 6000 hectares between Baks, Ópusztaszer and Dóc. The statistics predict that the occurrence and duration of the floods could make the regular inundation of this area possible, but the fact that the water often recedes relatively rapidly may necessitate the partial retention of the floods.

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