Flooding and drying mechanisms of the seasonal Sudd flood plains along the Bahr el Jebel in southern Sudan

Abstract

The flooding and drying mechanisms of the seasonal flood plains of the Sudd swamps in southern Sudan are, while dependent on the river levels, influenced by a complex interaction between soil, vegetation, topography and seasonal trends in rainfall and evapotranspiration. Based on field measurements, these components have been assessed in detail and evaluated regarding their function in the seasonal cycle of flooding and drying. A detailed analysis of soil and evapotranspiration conditions, as well as the interaction with vegetation and meteorological conditions, has been conducted using field and laboratory experiments. Sources, processes, flow directions and the fate of the floodwaters on both the river-fed seasonal flood plains and the rain-fed grasslands have been established. The results show that river spill is responsible for flooding these areas while no return flow occurs, and drying is caused by evapotranspiration. Rainfall can only cause temporary flooding in extreme events.

Citation Petersen, G. & Fohrer, N. (2010) Flooding and drying mechanisms of the seasonal Sudd flood plains along the Bahr el Jebel in southern Sudan. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(1), 4–16.     

Vegetation disturbances and flood energy during an extreme flood on a sub-tropical river

The advent of 2D hydraulic modelling has improved our understanding of flood hydraulics, thresholds, and dynamic effects on floodplain geomorphology and riparian vegetation at the morphological-unit scale. Hydraulic concepts of bed shear stress, stream power maxima, and energy (cumulative stream power) have been used to characterize floods and define their geomorphic effectiveness. These hydraulic concepts were developed in the context of reach-averaged, 1D hydraulic analyses, but their application to 2D model results is problematic due to differences in the treatment of energy losses in 1D and 2D analyses. Here we present methods for estimating total and boundary resistance from 2D modelling of an extreme flood on a subtropical river. Hydraulic model results are correlated with observations of the flood impacts on floodplain geomorphology and the riparian vegetation to identify thresholds and compute variants of flood energy. Comparison of LiDAR data in 2011 and 2014 shows that the 2011 flood produced 2–4 m of erosion on floodplain bars that were previously forested or grass-covered. Deposition on flood levees, dunes, and chute bars was up to 3.4 m thick. Various hydraulic metrics were trialled as candidates for thresholds of vegetation disturbance. The accuracy of thresholds using metrics extracted at the flood peak (i.e. boundary resistance and stream power maxima) was similar to that using energy as a threshold. Disturbance to forest and grass on vegetated bars was associated with stream powers of >834 W/m² and unit flows of >26 m²/s, respectively. Correlation of the hydraulic metrics with erosion and deposition depths showed no substantial improvement in using flood energy compared to metrics extracted at the flood peak for describing erosion and deposition. The extent of vegetation disturbances and morphological adjustments was limited for this extreme flood, and further 2D studies are needed to compare disturbance thresholds across different environments.     

Modeling depth-averaged velocity and bed shear stress in compound channels with emergent and submerged vegetation

This paper presents an approach to modeling the depth-averaged velocity and bed shear stress in compound channels with emergent and submerged vegetation. The depth-averaged equation of vegetated compound channel flow is given by considering the drag force and the blockage effect of vegetation, based on the Shiono and Knight method (1991) [40]. The analytical solution to the transverse variation of depth-averaged velocity is presented, including the effects of bed friction, lateral momentum transfer, secondary flows and drag force due to vegetation. The model is then applied to compound channels with completely vegetated floodplains and with one-line vegetation along the floodplain edge. The modeled results agree well with the available experimental data, indicating that the proposed model is capable of accurately predicting the lateral distributions of depth-averaged velocity and bed shear stress in vegetated compound channels with secondary flows. The secondary flow parameter and dimensionless eddy viscosity are also discussed and analyzed. The study shows that the sign of the secondary flow parameter is determined by the rotational direction of secondary current cells and its value is dependent on the flow depth. In the application of the model, ignoring the secondary flow leads to a large computational error, especially in the non-vegetated main channel.     

Sea-level rise and flooding in coastal riverine flood plains

Abstract

This work presents a method for calculating the contributions of sea-level rise and urban growth to flood risk in coastal flood plains. The method consists of hydraulic/hydrological, urban growth and flood-damage quantification modules. The hydraulic/hydrological module estimates peak annual flows to generate flood stages impacted by sea-level rise within flood plains. A model for urban growth predicts patterns of urbanization within flood plains over the period 2010–2050. The flood-damage quantification module merges flood maps and urbanization predictions to calculate the expected annual flood damage (EAFD) for given scenarios of sea-level rise. The method is illustrated with an application to the Tijuana River of southern California, USA, and northwestern Mexico, where the EAFD is predicted to increase by over US$100 million because of sea-level rise of 0.25–1.0 m and urban growth by the year 2050. It is shown that urbanization plays a principal role in increasing the EAFD in the study area for the range of sea-level rise considered.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz

Citation Garcia, E.S. and Loáiciga, H.A., 2013. Sea-level rise and flooding in coastal riverine flood plains. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (1), 204–220.     

Two-dimensional numerical assessment of the hydrodynamics of the Nile swamps in southern Sudan

Abstract

A two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic assessment of the Nile swamps in southern Sudan has been carried out using DHI MIKE 21 software based on a ground referenced and corrected Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model. The model was set up and calibrated using available historical information as well as newly measured data. The results show the model capable of representing the hydraulic conditions in the swamps, allowing the assessment of different flow conditions and their effects on the swamp. The study has established water-level gradients, flow directions and velocities in the swamp, as well as on the seasonal flood plains, and describes the importance of evapotranspiration for losses in the system.

Citation Petersen, G. & Fohrer, N. (2010) Two-dimensional numerical assessment of the hydrodynamics of the Nile swamps in southern Sudan. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(1), 17–26.     

Bed morphology in vegetated estuarine river with mild-curved meander bend

ABSTRACT

In this study, the effect of single and double row piles for reducing scouring in a mild-curved river meander was studied experimentally. The experimental study focused on the effect of vegetation on bed topography in a mild-curved meander bend. The experimental tests were conducted in a laboratory flume under clear water flow conditions. A series of experimental tests were carried out with a fixed bed and non-vegetated and vegetated moveable beds with different vegetation patterns. Analysis of the flow characteristics indicated that when the bed was mobile with vegetation on the inner bank, the core of maximum streamwise velocity shifted towards the centreline of the bend. Additionally, the cross-sectional kinetic energy increased from 0.05% for the fixed-bed test to 4.30% for the test with a double row of vegetation. Furthermore, the presence of vegetation was found to increase the uniformity of the distribution of turbulence intensity and to reduce the Reynolds shear stress along the test section. Also, the mass fluxes increased from the outer bank to the inner bank and from the upstream towards the downstream of the bend. Finally, comparison of bed topography in vegetated and non-vegetated channels showed that the maximum scour depth at the bend apex was reduced by 77% and 62% for the cases with one row and two rows of vegetation, respectively. The results of this study were compared with previously proposed models for predicting the vertical distribution of the streamwise velocity at the bend apex. It was found that Johannesson and Parker’s model (JPM) gave the lowest value of standard error. The above findings are useful in river training works and, in particular, for restoration of meandering rivers.

Editor D. M.C. Acreman; Associate editor C. Cudennec     

A 3-D phase-averaged model for shallow-water flow with waves in vegetated water

A 3-D shallow-water flow model has been developed to simulate the flow in coastal vegetated waters with short waves. The model adopts the 3-D phase-averaged shallow-water flow equations with radiation stresses induced by short waves. It solves the governing equations using an implicit finite volume method based on quadtree rectangular mesh in the horizontal plane and stretching mesh in the vertical direction. The flow model is coupled with a spectral wave deformation model called CMS-Wave. The wave model solves the spectral wave-action balance equation and provides wave characteristics to the flow model. The model considers the effects of vegetation on currents and waves by including the drag and inertia forces of vegetation in the momentum equations and the wave energy loss due to vegetation resistance in the wave-action balance equation. The model has been tested using several sets of laboratory experiments, including steady flows in a straight channel with submerged vegetation and in a compound channel with vegetated floodplain and random waves through a vegetated channel and on a vegetated beach slope. The calculated water levels, current velocities, and wave heights are in general good agreement with the measured data.     

Effect of macrophyte spatial variability on channel resistance

Aquatic macrophytes can severely retard flow rates in the river channels that they occupy. Consequently, there is a need to improve our ability to model vegetation resistance, to aid flood prediction and allow for better-informed channel management. An empirical model is developed to calculate flow resistance (Manning’s resistance coefficient) of channels containing the submergent macrophyte Ranunculus (water-crowfoot). Blockage factors (the proportion of a cross-section blocked by vegetation) were determined for up to nine cross-sections at each of 35 river sites. These were used to create blockage-factor percentiles, which were regressed against vegetation resistance. An exponential best-fit relation involving the 69th blockage-factor percentile gave the best results. A parameter relating the length of the vegetated/solid boundary in contact with the open channel to the length of the conventionally-defined wetted perimeter improved the model fit by acting as a pseudo-measure of the turbulent-energy losses generated within the unvegetated stream by the macrophytes. The model was tested on three additional sites containing different macrophyte species and much higher vegetation blockages, and was found to work well.     

Aeolian processes across transverse dunes. II: modelling the sediment transport and profile development

This paper discusses a model which simulates dune development resulting from aeolian saltation transport. The model was developed for application to coastal foredunes, but is also applicable to sandy deserts with transverse dunes. Sediment transport is calculated using published deterministic and empirical relationships, describing the influence of meteorological conditions, topography, sediment characteristics and vegetation. A so-called adaptation length is incorporated to calculate the development of transport equilibrium along the profile. Changes in topography are derived from the predicted transport, using the continuity equation. Vegetation height is incorporated in the model as a dynamic variable. Vegetation can be buried during transport events, which results in important changes in the sediment transport rates. The sediment transport model is dynamically linked to a second-order closure air flow model, which predicts friction velocities over the profile, influenced by topography and surface roughness. Modelling results are shown for (a) the growth and migration of bare, initially sine-shaped dunes, and (b) dune building on a partly vegetated and initially flat surface. Results show that the bare symmetrical dunes change into asymmetric shapes with a slipface on the lee side. This result could only be achieved in combination with the secondorder closure model for the calculation of air flow. The simulations with the partly vegetated surfaces reveal that the resulting dune morphology strongly depends on the value of the adaptation length parameter and on the vegetation height. The latter result implies that the dynamical interaction between aeolian activity and vegetation (reaction to burial, growth rates) is highly relevant in dune geomorphology and deserves much attention in future studies. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coupling the terrestrial hydrology model with biogeochemistry to the integrated LAND surface model: Amazon Basin applications

ABSTRACT

We coupled the hydrologic routing and flood dynamics model Terrestrial Hydrology Model with Biogeochemistry (THMB) to the Integrated LAND Surface Model (INLAND) and compared simulations of the discharge and flood extent area against gauge station and satellite-based information in the Amazon Basin. The coupled model represents well the seasonality of the flooding and discharge, but underestimates both of them. This can be related to an already discussed underestimate of the precipitation in the east of the Andes Mountains. A photosynthesis limitation on the flooded area was also included, showing changes in plant productivity and reduction in vegetation carbon stocks. Despite its limitations, the model proves to be a valuable tool for studies of the hydrological cycle and flood dynamics response to climate change projections, allowing it to be used to represent the feedbacks between continental surface water cycle and vegetation.     

Changes in flood regime by use of the modified curve number method

Abstract

This paper describes the use of a simple two stage rainfall-runoff model in which a curve number (CN) principle is used to calculate the soil water content and, subsequently, the rainfall contribution to direct runoff and groundwater flow. The maximum soil water retention, S, is used to express various characteristics of a catchment (infiltration rate, soil cover and land use, as in the CN method) relevant to flood formation. Using historical flood events, the model is calibrated, and the statistical distribution parameters of peak flows determined. With the same historical input data scenarios (rainfall), sets of flood hydrographs are simulated for various values of the parameter S, and corresponding distribution parameters of peak flows are determined. This procedure is used to demonstrate possible changes in flood regime to be expected due to changes of the catchment soil properties and its vegetation cover. A case study is presented for the River Hron catchment, area 582 km², in the mountainous region of central Slovakia.     

The use of historical flood information in the English Midlands to improve risk assessment

Abstract

The Easter 1998 flood was the largest flood event in the gauged record of many basins of the English Midlands. Flood frequency analysis, using such gauged records only, placed the 1998 event at a return period of over 100 years on several basins. However a review of historical (pre-gauged) flooding on some rivers gives a different perspective. Examples are given of the use of historical flood information on the River Leam, the River Wreake at Melton Mowbray, the River Sence (tributary to the River Soar) and the River Frome at Stroud. The cost of acquiring such historical flood data is trivial in comparison to gauged data, but the benefits are demonstrated as significant. In particular, historical flood data provide a better basis for risk assessment and planning on flood plains through revised estimates of flood discharge and depth.     

Morphodynamics of alternate bars in the presence of riparian vegetation

Alpine gravel-bed rivers are dynamic systems that have been subjected to many anthropic alterations in the past centuries. Riparian vegetation development on previously bare sediment bedforms has been a common adjustment, raising important management issues in terms of flood risks and biodiversity. Many of these rivers are also channelized, and as a result present a pattern of alternate bars. Considering recent advances in numerical biomorphodynamic modeling, this study aims at exploring numerically the morphodynamics of alternate bars in the presence of riparian vegetation. To this end, a dynamic vegetation module has been implemented on top of an existing morphodynamic model, accounting for ecological processes of seed dispersal, seedling recruitment, growth, and mortality. Numerical simulations have been performed on a simplified reach of a gravel-bed river with free migrating alternate bars at initial state. In this work 96 scenarios have been simulated, each representing 50 years of channel evolution, with different flood regimes characterized by various peak discharges and flood durations. Yearly peak discharge variability is explicitly modeled in 48 scenarios. Model outcomes present two possible equilibrium biomorphodynamic behaviors: stationary vegetated bars, or free migrating bars in the case of frequent vegetation removal during floods. This binary behavior holds true when the stochasticity of annual peak discharges is represented, and for a wide range of parameter values included in vegetation dynamic modeling. Transient mobility of vegetated bars is observed in specific configurations where large sediment deposits deflect the flow field, eroding bar heads. Modeled bar wavelengths are in the range of values predicted for free bars by linear bar theory, and remain far from the theoretical values of hybrid, steady bars. The shift from unvegetated migrating bars to steady vegetated bars seems to show that in these simulations vegetation constitutes a hydraulic forcing, leading to a shift from free bars to forced bars, with a final configuration largely inherited from the initial state. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Catchment-scale storm velocity: quantification,scale dependence and effect on flood response

Abstract

The concept of “catchment-scale storm velocity” quantifies the rate of storm motion up and down the basin accounting for the interaction between the rainfall space–time variability and the structure of the drainage network. It provides an assessment of the impact of storm motion on flood shape. We evaluate the catchment-scale storm velocity for the 29 August 2003 extreme storm that occurred on the 700 km²-wide Fella River basin in the eastern Italian Alps. The storm was characterized by the high rate of motion of convective cells across the basin. Analysis is carried out for a set of basins that range in area from 8 to 623 km² to: (a) determine velocity magnitudes for different sub-basins; (b) examine the relationship of velocity with basin scale and (c) assess the impact of storm motion on simulated flood response. Two spatially distributed hydrological models of varying degree of complexity in the representation of the runoff generation processes are used to evaluate the effects of the storm velocity on flood modelling and investigate model dependencies of the results. It is shown that catchment-scale storm velocity has a non-linear dependence on basin scale and generally exhibits rather moderate values, in spite of the strong kinematic characteristics of individual storm elements. Consistently with these observations and for both models, hydrological simulations show that storm motion has an almost negligible effect on the flood response modelling.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor R.J. Moore

Citation Nikolopoulos, E.I., Borga, M., Zoccatelli, D., and Anagnostou, E.N., 2014. Catchment-scale storm velocity: quantification, scale dependence and effect on flood response. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (7), 1363–1376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2014.923889     

Studies on changes in extreme flood peaks resulting from land-use changes need to consider roughness variations

ABSTRACT

The impacts of changes in forest coverage on extreme floods have drawn much attention globally. This study quantifies the sensitivity of flood peaks to forest coverage and roughness changes. With this objective, a framework is first introduced that includes a variance-based sensitivity analysis approach and a water and energy budget-based distributed hydrological model with a vegetation module. The influence of forest coverage changes is simulated by altering land-use types that are based on physical parameters. A variance decomposition approach is used to quantify the contribution of influential factors, i.e. event size, forest coverage and roughness changes, to extreme flood peak variations. The results in a medium-sized river basin show forest coverage changes have little influence: variations in canopy interception, ground surface water retention, soil moisture and groundwater table resulting from changing forest coverage did not alter flood peaks considerably. In contrast, it is found that flood peaks are more sensitive to roughness variations.     

Interactions between river flows and colonizing vegetation on a braided river: exploring spatial and temporal dynamics in riparian vegetation cover using satellite data

Field, laboratory, and numerical modelling research are increasingly demonstrating the potential of riparian tree colonization and growth to influence fluvial dynamics and the evolution of fluvial landforms. This paper jointly analyses multi‐temporal, multispectral ASTER data, continuous river stage and discharge data, and field observations of the growth rates of the dominant riparian tree species (Populus nigra) along a 21 km reach of the Tagliamento River, Italy. Research focuses on the period 2004–2009, during which there was a bankfull flood on 24 October 2004, followed by 2 years with low water levels, nearly 2 years with only modest flow pulses, and then a final period from 15 August 2008 that included several intermediate to bankfull flow events. This study period of increasing flow disturbance allows the exploration of vegetation dynamics within the river's active corridor under changing flow conditions. The analysis demonstrates the utility of ASTER data for investigating vegetation dynamics along large fluvial corridors and reveals both spatial and temporal variations in the expansion, coalescence, and erosion of vegetated patches within the study reach. Changes in the extent of the vegetated area and its dynamics vary along the study reach. In sub‐reaches where riparian tree growth is vigorous, the vegetated area expands rapidly during time periods without channel‐shaping flows, and is subsequently able to resist erosion by bankfull floods. In contrast, in sub‐reaches where tree growth is less vigorous, the vegetated area expands at a slower rate and is more readily re‐set by bankfull flood events. This illustrates that the rate of growth of riparian trees is crucial to their ability to contribute actively to river corridor dynamics. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A fast method of flood discharge estimation

Discharge, especially during flood periods, is among the most important information necessary for flood control, water resources planning and management. Owing to the high flood velocities, flood discharge usually cannot be measured efficiently by conventional methods, which explains why records of flood discharge are scarce or do not exist for the watersheds in Taiwan. A fast method of flood discharge estimation is presented. The greatest advantage of the proposed method is its application to estimate flood discharge that cannot be measured by conventional methods. It has as its basis the regularity of open‐channel flows, i.e. that nature maintains a constant ratio of mean to maximum velocities at a given channel section by adjusting the velocity distribution and the channel geometry. The maximum velocity at a given section can be determined easily over a single vertical profile, which tends to remain invariant with time and discharge, and can be converted to the mean velocity of the entire cross‐section by multying by the constant ratio. Therefore the mean velocity is a common multiple of maximum velocity and the mean/maximum velocity ratio. The channel cross‐sectional area can be determined from the gauge height, the water depth at the y‐axis or the product of the channel width multiplied by the water depth at the y‐axis. Then the most commonly used method, i.e. the velocity–area method, which determines discharge as the product of the cross‐sectional area multiplied by mean velocity, is applied to estimate the flood discharge. Only a few velocity measurements on the y‐axis are necessary to estimate flood discharge. Moreover the location of the y‐axis will not vary with time and water stage. Once the relationship of mean and maximum velocities is established, the flood estimation can be determined efficiently. This method avoids exposure to hazardous environments and sharply reduces the measurement time and cost. The method can be applied in both high and low flows in rivers. Available laboratory flume and stream‐flow data are used to illustrate accuracy and reliability, and results show that this method can quickly and accurately estimate flood discharges. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of soil in vegetated gravelly river braid plains: more than just a passive response?

This paper reviews the role of alluvial soils in vegetated gravelly river braid plains. When considering decadal timescales of river evolution, we argue that it becomes vital to consider soil development as an emergent property of the developing ecosystem. Soil processes have been relatively overlooked in accounts of the interactions between braided river processes and vegetation, although soils have been observed on vegetated fluvial landforms. We hypothesize that soil development plays a major role in the transition (speed and pathway) from a fresh sediment deposit to a vegetated soil‐covered landform. Disturbance (erosion and/or deposition), vertical sediment structure (process history), vegetation succession, biological activity and water table fluctuation are seen as the main controls on early alluvial soil evolution. Erosion and deposition processes may not only act as soil disturbing agents, but also as suppliers of ecosystem resources, because of their role in delivering and changing access (e.g. through avulsion) to fluxes of water, fine sediments and organic matter. In turn, the associated initial ecosystem may influence further fluvial landform development, such as through the trapping of fine‐grained sediments (e.g. sand) by the engineering action of vegetation and the deposit stabilization by the developing aboveground and belowground biomass. This may create a strong feedback between geomorphological processes, vegetation succession and soil evolution which we summarize in a conceptual model. We illustrate this model by an example from the Allondon River (Switzerland) and identify the research questions that follow. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Book reviews

Abstract

Statistical and deterministic modelling estimates of flood magnitudes and frequencies that can affect flood-plain ecology in the upper Ahuriri River catchment, a mountainous high country catchment in the New Zealand Southern Alps, were evaluated. Statistical analysis of 46 years of historical data showed that floods are best modelled by the generalized extreme value and lognormal distributions. We evaluated application of the HEC-HMS model to this environment by modelling flood events of various frequencies. Model results were validated and compared with the statistical estimates. The SCS curve number method was used for losses and runoff generation, and the model was very sensitive to curve number. The HEC-HMS flood estimates matched the statistical estimates reasonably well, and, over all return periods, were on average approximately 1% greater. However, the model generally underestimated flood peaks up to the 25-year event and overestimated magnitudes above this. The results compared well with other regional estimates, including studies based on L-moments, and showed that this catchment has smaller floods than other similarly-sized catchments in the Southern Alps.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor H. Aksoy

Citation Caruso, B.S., Rademaker, M., Balme, A., and Cochrane, T.A., 2013. Flood modelling in a high country mountain catchment, New Zealand: comparing statistical and deterministic model estimates for ecological flows. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (2), 328–341.