Flooding and geomorphic impacts in a mountain torrent: Raise Beck,central Lake District,England

Raise Beck is a mountain torrent located in the central Lake District fells, northern England (drainage area of 1·27 km²). The torrent shows evidence of several major flood events, the most recent of which was in January 1995. This event caused a major channel avulsion at the fan apex diverting the main flood flow to the south, blocking the A591 trunk road and causing local flooding. The meteorological conditions associated with this event are described using local rainfall records and climatic data. Records show 164 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours preceding the flood. The peak flood discharge is reconstructed using palaeohydrological and rainfall–runoff methods, which provide discharge values of 27–74 m³ s^?1, and 4–6 m³ s^?1, respectively. The flood transported boulders with b‐axes up to 1400 mm. These results raise some important general questions about flood estimation in steep mountain catchments. The geomorphological impact of the event is evaluated by comparing aerial photographs from before and after the flood, along with direct field observations. Over the historical timescale the impact and occurrence of flooding is investigated using lichenometry, long‐term rainfall data, and documentary records. Two major historical floods events are identified in the middle of the nineteenth century. The deposits of the recent and historical flood events dominate the sedimentological evidence of flooding at Raise Beck, therefore the catchment is sensitive to high magnitude, low frequency events. Following the 1995 flood much of the lower catchment was channelized using rip‐rap bank protection, re‐establishing flow north towards Thirlmere. The likely success of this management strategy in containing future floods is considered, based on an analysis of channel capacities. It is concluded that the channelization scheme is only a short‐term solution, which would fail to contain the discharge of an event equivalent to the January 1995 flood. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reconstructing extreme post‐wildfire floods: a comparison of convective and mesoscale events

In much of western United States destructive floods after wildfire are frequently caused by localized, short‐duration convective thunderstorms; however, little is known about post‐fire flooding from longer‐duration, low‐intensity mesoscale storms. In this study we estimate and compare peak flows from convective and mesoscale floods following the 2012 High Park Fire in the ungaged 15.5 km² Skin Gulch basin in the northcentral Colorado Front Range. The convective storm on 6 July 2012 came just days after the wildfire was contained. Radar data indicated that the total rainfall was 20–47 mm, and the maximum rainfall intensities (upwards of 50 mm h^?1) were concentrated over portions of the watershed that burned at high severity. The mesoscale storm on 9–15 September 2013 produced 220–240 mm of rain but had maximum 15‐min intensities of only 25–32 mm h^?1. Peak flows for each flood were estimated using three independent techniques. Our best estimate using a 2D hydraulic model was 28 m³ s^?1 km^?2 for the flood following the convective storm, placing it among the largest rainfall‐runoff floods per unit area in the United States. In contrast, the flood associated with the mesoscale flood was only 6 m³ s^?1 km^?2, but the long‐duration flood caused extensive channel incision and widening, indicating that this storm was much more geomorphically effective. The peak flow estimates for the 2013 flood had a higher relative uncertainty and this stemmed from whether we used pre‐ or post‐flood channel topography. The results document the extent to which a high and moderate severity forest fire can greatly increase peak flows and alter channel morphology, illustrate how indirect peak flow estimates have larger errors than is generally assumed, and indicate that the magnitude of post‐fire floods and geomorphic change can be affected by the timing, magnitude, duration, and sequence of rainstorms. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large wood distribution,mobility, and recruitment in an inter‐dam river reach: A comparison with geomorphic process on the Garrison Reach of the Missouri River pre and post the historical 2011 flood

This study assessed the effect of the largest flood since dam regulation on geomorphic and large wood (LW) trends using LW distributions at three time periods on the 150 km long Garrison Reach of the Missouri River. In 2011, a flood exceeded 4390 m³/s for a two‐week period (705% above mean flow; 500 year flood). LW was measured using high resolution satellite imagery in summer 2010 and 2012. Ancillary data including forest character, vegetation cover, lateral bank retreat, and channel capacity. Lateral bank erosion removed approximately 7400 standing trees during the flood. Other mechanisms, that could account for the other two‐thirds of the measured in‐channel LW, include overland flow through floodplains and islands. LW transport was commonly near or over 100 km as indicated by longitudinal forest and bank loss and post‐flood LW distribution. LW concentrations shift at several locations along the river, both pre‐ and post‐flood, and correspond to geomorphic river regions created by the interaction of the Garrison Dam upstream and the Oahe Dam downstream. Areas near the upstream dam experienced proportionally higher rates of bank erosion and forest loss but in‐channel LW decreased, likely due to scouring. A large amount of LW moved during this flood, the chief anchoring mechanism was not bridges or narrow channel reaches but the channel complexity of the river delta created by the downstream reservoir. Areas near the downstream dam experienced bank accretion and large amounts of LW deposition. This study confirms the results of similar work in the Reach: despite a historic flood longitudinal LW and channel trends remain the same. Dam regulation has created a geomorphic and LW pattern that is largely uninterrupted by an unprecedented dam regulation era flood. River managers may require other tools than infrequent high intensity floods to restore geomorphic and LW patterns. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variability in sediment supply,transfer and deposition in an upland torrent system: Iron Crag,northern England

Research into torrent erosion has focused on bedload transport dynamics, debris flow propagation during flood events, and fan sedimentation. Studies have frequently been biased towards specific events and have not considered sediment delivery in the catchment as a whole. The aim of this study is to examine spatial variations and process controls on sediment transfer in an upland torrent system (hillslopes, channel and fan). The study site is Iron Crag, a small torrent system (catchment area 2·4 ha) situated in the northern Lake District, UK. Particle size analysis of hillslope sediments trapped during transport suggests sediment calibre is controlled primarily by sediment source. Freeze–thaw and rainfall processes impart a weak but recognizable size sorting signature on the trapped sediments. However, these variations are less significant in determining sediment supply to the basal fan, than those operating in the channel system. Channel sediment movement is strongly influenced by storm events, the type of flow process (debris flow or fluvial flow), the sediment characteristics, and the local channel topography. The importance of the channel–fan coupling is clearly demonstrated in that more than 90 per cent of fan sedimentation is derived from channel sediment sources. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of flooding in urbanized ungauged basins: a case study in the Upper Tiber area,Italy

The reliability of a procedure for investigation of flooding into an ungauged river reach close to an urban area is investigated. The approach is based on the application of a semi‐distributed rainfall–runoff model for a gauged basin, including the flood‐prone area, and that furnishes the inlet flow conditions for a two‐dimensional hydraulic model, whose computational domain is the urban area. The flood event, which occurred in October 1998 in the Upper Tiber river basin and caused significant damage in the town of Pieve S. Stefano, was used to test the approach. The built‐up area, often inundated, is included in the gauged basin of the Montedoglio dam (275 km²), for which the rainfall–runoff model was adapted and calibrated through three flood events without over‐bank flow. With the selected set of parameters, the hydrological model was found reasonably accurate in simulating the discharge hydrograph of the three events, whereas the flood event of October 1998 was simulated poorly, with an error in peak discharge and time to peak of −58% and 20%, respectively. This discrepancy was ascribed to the combined effect of the rainfall spatial variability and a partial obstruction of the bridge located in Pieve S. Stefano. In fact, taking account of the last hypothesis, the hydraulic model reproduced with a fair accuracy the observed flooded urban area. Moreover, incorporating into the hydrological model the flow resulting from a sudden cleaning of the obstruction, which was simulated by a ‘shock‐capturing’ one‐dimensional hydraulic model, the discharge hydrograph at the basin outlet was well represented if the rainfall was supposed to have occurred in the region near the main channel. This was simulated by reducing considerably the dynamic parameter, the lag time, of the instantaneous unit hydrograph for each homogeneous element into which the basin is divided. The error in peak discharge and time to peak decreased by a few percent. A sensitivity analysis of both the flooding volume involved in the shock wave and the lag time showed that this latter parameter requires a careful evaluation. Moreover, the analysis of the hydrograph peak prediction due to error in rainfall input showed that the error in peak discharge was lower than that of the same input error quantity. Therefore, the obtained results allowed us to support the hypothesis on the causes which triggered the complex event occurring in October 1998, and pointed out that the proposed procedure can be conveniently adopted for flood risk evaluation in ungauged river basins where a built‐up area is located. The need for a more detailed analysis regarding the processes of runoff generation and flood routing is also highlighted. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hillslope–channel sediment transfer in a slope failure event: Wet Swine Gill,Lake District,northern England

This paper describes and analyses a hillslope–channel slope failure event that occurred at Wet Swine Gill, Lake District, northern England. This comprised a hillslope slide (180 m³, c. 203 ± 36 t), which coupled with the adjacent stream, resulting in a channelized debris flow and fluvial flood. The timing of the event is constrained between January and March 2002. The hillslope failure occurred in response to a rainfall/snowmelt trigger, on ground recently disturbed by a heather moorland fire and modified by artificial drainage. Slide and flow dynamics are estimated using reconstructed velocity and discharge values along the sediment transfer path. There is a rapid downstream reduction in both maximum velocity, from 9·8 to 1·3 m s^?1; and maximum discharge, ranging from 33·5 to 2·4 m³ s^?1. A volumetric sediment budget quantified a high degree of coupling between the hillslope and immediate channel (～92%: 167 m³), but virtually all of the sediment was retained in the first‐order tributary channel. Approximately 44% (81 m³) of the slide volume was retained in the run‐up deposit, and termination of the debris flow prior to the main river meant that the remainder did not discharge into the fluvial system downstream. These results suggest poor transmission of sediment to the main river at the time of the event, but importantly an increase in available material for post‐event sediment transfer processes within the small upland tributary. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rainfall partitioning into throughfall,stemflow, and interception within a single beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) canopy: influence of foliation,rain event characteristics,and meteorology

While the hydrological balance of forest ecosystems has often been studied at the annual level, quantitative studies on the factors determining rainfall partitioning of individual rain events are less frequently reported. Therefore, the effect of the seasonal variation in canopy cover on rainfall partitioning was studied for a mature deciduous beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) tree over a 2‐year period. At the annual level, throughfall amounted to 71% of precipitation, stemflow 8%, and interception 21%. Rainfall partitioning at the event level depended strongly on the amount of rainfall and differed significantly (p < 0·001) between the leafed and the leafless period of the year. Therefore, water fluxes of individual events were described using a multiple regression analysis (r_a² > 0·85, n = 205) with foliation, rainfall characteristics and meteorological variables as predictor variables. For a given amount of rainfall, foliation significantly increased interception and decreased throughfall and stemflow amounts. In addition, rainfall duration, maximum rainfall rate, vapour pressure deficit, and wind speed significantly affected rainfall partitioning at the event level. Increasing maximum hourly rainfall rate increased throughfall and decreased stemflow generation, while higher hourly vapour pressure deficit decreased event throughfall and stemflow amounts. Wind speed decreased throughfall in the growing period only. Since foliation and the event rainfall amount largely determined interception loss, the observed net water input under the deciduous canopy was sensitive to the temporal distribution of rainfall. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

First‐year post‐fire erosion rates in Bitterroot National Forest,Montana

Accelerated runoff and erosion commonly occur following forest fires due to combustion of protective forest floor material, which results in bare soil being exposed to overland flow and raindrop impact, as well as water repellent soil conditions. After the 2000 Valley Complex Fires in the Bitterroot National Forest of west‐central Montana, four sets of six hillslope plots were established to measure first‐year post‐wildfire erosion rates on steep slopes (greater than 50%) that had burned with high severity. Silt fences were installed at the base of each plot to trap eroded sediment from a contributing area of 100 m². Rain gauges were installed to correlate rain event characteristics to the event sediment yield. After each sediment‐producing rain event, the collected sediment was removed from the silt fence and weighed on site, and a sub‐sample taken to determine dry weight, particle size distribution, organic matter content, and nutrient content of the eroded material. Rainfall intensity was the only significant factor in determining post‐fire erosion rates from individual storm events. Short duration, high intensity thunderstorms with a maximum 10‐min rainfall intensity of 75 mm h^?1 caused the highest erosion rates (greater than 20 t ha^?1). Long duration, low intensity rains produced little erosion (less than 0·01 t ha^?1). Total C and N in the collected sediment varied directly with the organic matter; because the collected sediment was mostly mineral soil, the C and N content was small. Minimal amounts of Mg, Ca, and K were detected in the eroded sediments. The mean annual erosion rate predicted by Disturbed WEPP (Water Erosion Prediction Project) was 15% less than the mean annual erosion rate measured, which is within the accuracy range of the model. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrometeorological controls and erosive response of an extreme alpine debris flow

On 29 August, 2003, an intense convective storm system affected the Fella River basin, in the eastern Italian Alps, producing rainfall peaks of approximately 390 mm in 12 h. The storm triggered an unusually large debris flow in the ungauged Rio Cucco basin (0·65 km²), with a volume of approximately 78 000 m³. The analysis of the time evolution of the rainstorm over the basin has been based on rainfall estimates from radar observations and data recorded by a raingauge network. Detailed geomorphological field surveys, carried out both before and after the flood of August 2003, and the application of a distributed hydrological model have enabled assessment of flood response, estimation of erosion volumes and sediment supply to the channel network. The accounts of two eyewitnesses have provided useful elements for reconstructing the time evolution and the flow processes involved in the event. Liquid peak discharge estimates cluster around 20 m³ s^?1 km^?2, placing this event on the flood envelope curve for the eastern Italian Alps. The hydrological analysis has shown that the major controls of the flood response were the exceptional cumulated rainfall amount, required to exceed the large initial losses, and the large rainfall intensities at hourly temporal scales, required to generate high flood response at the considered basin scale. Observations on the deposits accumulated on the alluvial fan indicate that, although the dominant flow process was a debris flow, sheetflood also contributed to fan aggradation and fluvial reworking had an important role in winnowing debris‐flow lobes and redistributing sediment on the fan surface. This points out to the large discharge values during the recession phase of the flood, implying an important role for subsurface flow on runoff generation of this extreme flash flood event. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impacts of wildfire and post-fire land management on hydrological and sediment processes in a humid Mediterranean headwater catchment

The extensive afforestation of the Mediterranean rim of Europe in recent decades has increased the number of wildfire disturbances on hydrological and sediment processes, but the impacts on headwater catchments is still poorly understood, especially when compared with the previous agricultural landscape. This work monitored an agroforestry catchment in the north-western Iberian Peninsula, with plantation forests mixed with traditional agriculture using soil conservation practices, for one year before the fire and for three years afterwards, during which period the burnt area was ploughed and reforested. During this period, continuous data was collected for meteorology, streamflow and sediment concentration at the outlet, erosion features were mapped and measured after major rainfall events, and channel sediment dynamics were monitored downstream from the agricultural and the burnt forest area. Data from 202 rainfall events with over 10 mm was analysed in detail. Results show that the fire led to a notable impact on sediment processes during the first two post-fire years, but not on streamflow processes; this despite the small size of the burnt area (10% of the catchment) and the occurrence of a severe drought in the first year after the fire. During this period, soil loss at the burnt forest slopes was much larger than that at most traditionally managed fields, and, ultimately, led to sediment exhaustion. At the catchment scale, storm characteristics were the dominant factor behind streamflow and sediment yield both before and after the fire. However, the data indicated a shift from detachment-limited sediment yield before the fire, to transport-limited sediment yield afterwards, with important increases in streamflow sediment concentration. This indicates that even small fires can temporarily change sediment processes in agroforestry catchments, with potential negative consequences for downstream water quality.     

The relationship between rainfall inputs and flood generation in south–east Spain

Rainfall and flood data are relatively sparse in semi‐arid areas; hence there have been relatively few investigations into the relationships between rainfall inputs and flood generation in these environments. Previous work has shown that flood properties are influenced by a combination of precipitation characteristics including amount, intensity, duration and spatial distribution. Therefore floods may be produced by high intensity, short duration storms, or longer duration, low intensity rainfall. Most of this research has been undertaken in small catchments in either hyper‐arid or relatively high rainfall Mediterranean climates. This paper presents results from a 6 year data record in south‐east Spain from research conducted in two basins, the Rambla Nogalte (171 km²) and the Rambla de Torrealvilla (200 km²). Data cover an area of approximately 500 km² and an annual average rainfall of 300 mm. At coarse temporal resolutions gauges spread over large areas record similar patterns of rainfall, although spells of rain show much more complexity; pulses of rain within storms can vary considerably in total rainfall, intensity and duration over the same area. The analysis for south‐east Spain shows that most storms occur over a period of less than 24 h, but that the number of rainfall events declines as the duration exceeds 8 h. This is at odds with data on floods for the study area suggesting that they are produced by storms lasting longer than 18 h. However, one flood event was produced by a very short (15 min) storm with high intensity rainfall. Most floods tended to occur in May/June or September, which coincides with wetter months of the year (September, October, December and May). Floods are also more highly related to the total rainfall occurring in a spell of rain, than to intensity. The complexity of storm rainfall increases with the storm total, which makes it difficult to generalize on the importance of rainfall intensity for flood generation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Critical rainfall statistics for predicting watershed flood responses: rethinking the design storm concept

Recent advances have been made to modernize estimates of probable precipitation scenarios; however, researchers and engineers often continue to assume that rainfall events can be described by a small set of event statistics, typically average intensity and event duration. Given the easy availability of precipitation data and advances in desk‐top computational tools, we suggest that it is time to rethink the ‘design storm’ concept. Design storms should include more holistic characteristics of flood‐inducing rain events, which, in addition to describing specific hydrologic responses, may also be watershed or regionally specific. We present a sensitivity analysis of nine precipitation event statistics from observed precipitation events within a 60‐year record for Tompkins County, NY, USA. We perform a two‐sample Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) test to objectively identify precipitation event statistics of importance for two related hydrologic responses: (1) peak outflow from the Six Mile Creek watershed and (2) peak depth within the reservoir behind the Six Mile Creek Dam. We identify the total precipitation depth, peak hourly intensity, average intensity, event duration, interevent duration, and several statistics defining the temporal distribution of precipitation events to be important rainfall statistics to consider for predicting the watershed flood responses. We found that the two hydrologic responses had different sets of statistically significant parameters. We demonstrate through a stochastic precipitation generation analysis the effects of starting from a constrained parameter set (intensity and duration) when predicting hydrologic responses as opposed to utilizing an expanded suite of rainfall statistics. In particular, we note that the reduced precipitation parameter set may underestimate the probability of high stream flows and therefore underestimate flood hazard. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An integrated approach for investigating geomorphic response to extreme events: methodological framework and application to the October 2011 flood in the Magra River catchment,Italy

A high‐magnitude flash flood, which took place on 25 October 2011 in the Magra River catchment (1717 km²), central‐northern Italy, is used to illustrate some aspects of the geomorphic response to the flood. An overall methodological framework is described for using interlinked observations and analyses of the geomorphic impacts of an extreme event. The following methods and analyses were carried out: (i) hydrological and hydraulic analysis of the event; (ii) sediment delivery by event landslide mapping; (iii) identification and estimation of wood recruitment, deposition, and budgeting; (iv) interpretation of morphological processes by analysing fluvial deposits; (v) remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) analysis of channel width changes. In response to the high‐magnitude hydrological event, a large number of landslides occurred, consisting of earth flows, soil slips, and translational slides, and a large quantity of wood was recruited, in most part deriving from floodplain erosion caused by bank retreat and channel widening. The most important impact of the flood event within the valley floor was an impressive widening of the overall channel bed and the reactivation of wide portions of the pre‐event floodplain. Along the investigated (unconfined or partly confined) streams (total investigated length of 93.5 km), the channel width after the flood was up to about 20 times the channel width before the event. The study has shown that a synergic use of different methods and types of evidence provides fundamental information for characterizing and understanding the geomorphic effects of intense flood events. The prediction of geomorphic response to a flood event is still challenging and many limitations exist; however a robust geomorphological analysis can contribute to the identification of the most critical reaches. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes to flood peaks of a mountain river: implications for analysis of the 2013 flood in the Upper Bow River,Canada

The mountain headwater Bow River at Banff, Alberta, Canada, was subject to a large flood in June 2013, over which considerable debate has ensued regarding its probability of occurrence. It is therefore instructive to consider what information long‐term streamflow discharge records provide about environmental change in the Upper Bow River basin above Banff. Though protected as part of Banff National Park, since 1885, the basin has experienced considerable climate and land cover changes, each of which has the potential to impact observations, and hence the interpretations of flood probability. The Bow River at Banff hydrometric station is one of Canada's longest‐operating reference hydrological basin network stations and so has great value for assessing changes in flow regime over time. Furthermore, the station measures a river that provides an extremely important water supply for Calgary and irrigation district downstream and so is of great interest for assessing regional water security. These records were examined for changes in several flood attributes and to determine whether flow changes may have been related to landscape change within the basin as caused by forest fires, conversion from grasslands to forest with fire suppression, and regional climate variations and/or trends. Floods in the Upper Bow River are generated by both snowmelt and rain‐on‐snow (ROS) events, the latter type which include flood events generated by spatially and temporally large storms such as occurred in 2013. The two types of floods also have different frequency characteristics. Snowmelt and ROS flood attributes were not correlated significantly with any climate index or with burned area except that snowmelt event duration correlated negatively to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. While there is a significant negative trend in all floods over the past 100 years, when separated based on generating process, neither snowmelt floods nor large ROS floods associated with mesoscale storms show any trends over time. Despite extensive changes to the landscape of the basin and in within the climate system, the flood regime remains unchanged, something identified at smaller scales in the region but never at larger scales. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

13e SESSION DU COMITÉ CONSULTATIF KARACHI 4–15 NOVEMBRE 1957

Abstract

Event-based methods are used in flood estimation to obtain the entire flood hydrograph. Previously, such methods adopted in the UK have relied on pre-determined values of the input variables (e.g. rainfall and antecedent conditions) to a rainfall–runoff model, which is expected to result in an output flood of a particular return period. In contrast, this paper presents a method that allows all the input variables to take on values across the full range of their individual distributions. These values are then brought together in all possible combinations as input to an event-based rainfall–runoff model in a Monte Carlo simulation approach. Further, this simulation strategy produces a long string of events (on average 10 per year), where dependencies from one event to the next, as well as between different variables within a single event, are accounted for. Frequency analysis is then applied to the annual maximum peak flows and flow volumes.

Citation Svensson, C., Kjeldsen, T.R., and Jones, D.A., 2013. Flood frequency estimation using a joint probability approach within a Monte Carlo framework. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (1), 1–20.     

Runoff generation from logged and burnt convergent hillslopes: rainfall simulation and modelling

This paper reports results from field experiments and hydrological modelling on the dynamics of runoff generation in highly convergent parts of the landscape in a logged and burnt eucalypt forest in south‐eastern Victoria, Australia. Large‐scale rainfall simulation experiments were conducted to explore runoff generating mechanisms from harvested areas, and to assess the effectiveness of standard water quality protective measures, here a disturbed filter strip, in preventing accession of sediment to near‐stream areas. We then examined the likely effects of varying antecedent moisture conditions on surface and subsurface runoff generating mechanisms. Very small volumes of surface runoff were generated only at very high rainfall intensity rates that exceeded a 100 year recurrence interval event during the simulated experiments. There was little or no identifiable impact of either compaction from logging operations or fire‐induced hydrophobicity on surface infiltration or generation of surface runoff. Measured soil hydraulic properties and soil depths explained the paucity of surface runoff, and the dominance of subsurface storm flow as the prime runoff generating mechanism. Deep lateral subsurface flow was observed from the cut‐face of a fire access track and into a streamhead downslope of the experimental plots. Water balance modelling using Topog_Dynamic indicated the conditions under which saturated overland flow in this environment could be generated are rare, but that care should be taken in siting of roads and tracks in lower parts of convergent landscapes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fully coupled free‐surface flow and sediment transport modelling of flash floods in a desert stream in the Mojave Desert,California

For most of the year, a dry‐bed desert wash is void of water flow. Intensive rain events, however, could trigger significant flash floods that bring about highly complicated hydrodynamics and morphodynamics processes within a desert stream. We present a fully coupled three‐phase flow model of air, water, and sediment to simulate numerically the propagation of a flash flood in a field‐scale fluvial desert stream, the so‐called Tex Wash located in the Mojave Desert, California, United States. The turbulent flow of the flash flood is computed using the three‐dimensional unsteady Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations closed with the shear stress transport k ? ω model. The free surface of the flash flood at the interface of air and water phases is computed with the level‐set method, which enables instantaneous tracking of the water surface as the flash flood propagates over the dry bed of the desert stream. The evolution of the desert fluvial stream's morphology, due to the action of the propagating flash flood on the mobile bed, is calculated using a Eulerian morphodynamics model based on the curvilinear immersed boundary method. The capabilities of the proposed numerical framework are demonstrated by applying it to simulate a flash flood event in a 0.65‐km ‐long reach of the Tex Wash, the intricate channel morphology of which is obtained using light imaging detection and ranging technology. The simulated region of the stream includes a number of bridge foundations. The simulation results of the model for the flash flood event revealed the formation of a highly complex flow field and scour patterns within the stream. Moreover, our simulation results showed that most scour processes take place during the steady phase of the flash flood, that is, after the flash flood fills the stream. The transient phase of the flash flood is rather short and contributes to a very limited amount of erosion within the desert stream.     

Infiltration,runoff and soil loss in Andisols affected by forest fire (Canary Islands,Spain)

Depending on the severity of the fire, forest fires may modify infiltration and soil erosion processes. Rainfall simulations were used to determine the hydrological effects of fire on Andisols in a pine forest burned by a wildfire in 2007. Six burned zones with different fire severities were compared with unburned zones. Infiltration, runoff and soil loss were analysed on slopes of 10% and 30%. Forest floor and soil properties were evaluated. Unburned zones exhibited relatively low infiltration (23 and 16 mm h^?1 on 10% and 30% slope angles, respectively) and high average runoff/rainfall ratios (43% and 50% on 10% and 30% slope angles, respectively), which were associated with the extreme water repellency of the forest floor. Nonetheless, this layer seems to provide protection against raindrop impact and soil losses were found to be low (8 and 16 g m^?2 h^?1 for 10% and 30% slope angles, respectively). Soil cover, soil structure and water repellency were the main properties affected by the fire. The fire reduced forest floor and soil repellency, allowing rapid infiltration. Moreover, a significant decrease was noted in soil aggregate stabilities in the burned zones, which limited the infiltration rates. Consequently, no significant differences in infiltration and runoff were found between the burned and the unburned zones. The decrease in post‐fire soil cover and soil stability resulted in order‐of‐magnitude increases in erosion. Sediment rates were 15 and 31 g m^?2 h^?1 on the 10% and 30% slope angles, respectively, in zones affected by light fire severity. In the moderate fire severity zones, these values reached 65 and 260 g m^?2 h^?1 for the 10% and 30% slope angles, respectively. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Back‐calculation of bedload transport in steep channels with a numerical model

In August 2005 severe flood events occurred in the Alps. A sediment routing model for steep torrent channel networks called SETRAC has been applied to six well‐documented case study streams with substantial sediment transport in Austria and Switzerland. For these streams information on the sediment budget along the main channel is available. Flood hydrographs were reconstructed based on precipitation data and stream gauges in neighbouring catchments. Different scenarios are modelled and discussed regarding sediment availability and the effect of armouring and macro‐roughness on sediment transport calculations. The simulation results show the importance of considering increased flow resistance for small relative flow depth when modelling bedload transport during high‐intensity flood events in torrents and mountain rivers. Without any correction of increased flow resistance using a reduced energy slope, the predicted bedload volumes are about a factor of 10 higher on average than the observed values. Simulation results were also used for a back‐calculation of macro‐roughness effects from bedload transport data, and compared with an independent estimate of flow resistance partitioning based on flow resistance data. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Process controls on the statistical flood moments ‐ a data based analysis

In this paper, the controls of different indicators on the statistical moments (i.e. mean annual flood (MAF), coefficient of variation (CV) and skewness (CS)) of the maximum annual flood records of 459 Austrian catchments are analysed. The process controls are analysed in terms of the correlation of the flood moments within five hydrologically homogeneous regions to two different types of indicators. Indicators of the first type are static catchment attributes, which are associated with long‐term observations such as mean annual precipitation, the base flow index, and the percentage of catchment area covered by a geological unit or soil type. Indicators of the second type are dynamic catchment attributes that are associated with the event scale. Indicators of this type used in the study are event runoff coefficients and antecedent rainfall. The results indicate that MAF and CV are strongly correlated with indicators characterising the hydro‐climatic conditions of the catchments, such as mean annual precipitation, long‐term evaporation and the base flow index. For the catchments analysed, the flood moments are not significantly correlated with static catchment attributes representing runoff generation, such as geology, soil types, land use and the SCS curve number. Indicators of runoff generation that do have significant predictive power for flood moments are dynamic catchment attributes such as the mean event runoff coefficients and mean antecedent rainfall. The correlation analysis indicates that flood runoff is, on average, more strongly controlled by the catchment moisture state than by event rainfall. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.