Engineering Procedure for the Climate Change Flood Risk Assessment in the Upper Thames River Basin
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 16, Issue 7
Abstract
Climate change will bring more severe and frequent floods to the Upper Thames River basin. The city of London, with a population of over 350,000, is one of the most vulnerable locations in the basin. This paper presents an original methodology used to prepare the input for flood risk assessment under climate change. The methodology involves integrated climate-hydrologic-hydraulic modeling analyses for floodplain mapping under the changing climatic conditions. Using 43 years of historical data at 15 stations in the Upper Thames River basin and global circulation model predictions, the potential climate change impacts on flood risk in the basin are provided. The results indicate that, under climate change, the extent of flood impacts will be larger (larger areas inundated with larger water depth), and will therefore increase the level of risk to public infrastructure. Results of the study are being used in a quantitative assessment of risk to the municipal infrastructure.
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Acknowledgments
This work was made possible by financial support from the UNSPECIFIEDCity of London. Delcan engineering input is highly appreciated. The authors would like to thank the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) for providing data used in this study.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 16 • Issue 7 • July 2011
Pages: 608 - 612
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 15, 2010
Accepted: Oct 19, 2010
Published online: Oct 27, 2010
Published in print: Jul 1, 2011
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