Sampling variance of a T-year flood estimated by curve-fitting

The sampling variance of a T-year flood when estimated using a curve-fitting method results from the errors in hydrologic observations, plotting positions, and model-fitting. This paper develops a method to quantify the contribution of plotting positions to the sampling variance of the T-year flood magnitude. Application of the method to 150 flood-flow data sets of 41 rivers in the People's Republic of China show that the errors due to plotting positions contribute more to the sampling variance than others.