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Flood frequency estimation in Scotland using index floods and regional growth curves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

M. C. Acreman  and
A. Werritty
M. C. Acreman
Affiliation:
Institute of Hydrology, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BB, U.K.
A. Werritty
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9AL, Scotland, U.K.
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Abstract

The index flood/regional growth curve method is the most commonly used procedure for estimating a design flood at an ungauged site in the United Kingdom when only the instantaneous peak discharge is required. This paper summarises recent work in Scotland in which the authors have refined the equations for estimating the index flood from the physical characteristics of the drainage basin and have proposed new methods for classifying basins to increase the hydrological homogeneity of the regions on which the growth curves are based. A new algorithm for estimating regional growth curves is reported which allows for correlation between flood magnitude at different sites. Simulation experiments are described which highlight the consequences of the data failing to meet the assumptions of the models used.

Keywords

classificationcorrelationdesign floodsflood statisticsregionalisationsimulationstandardisation
Type
Rainfall-runoff modelling
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 78 , Issue 4: Hydrology in Scotland , 1987 , pp. 305 - 313
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1987

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