Flash Flood Peak Estimation in Small Mountainous Catchments Based on Distributed Geomorphological Unit Hydrographs Using Fuzzy -Means Clustering
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 25, Issue 12
Abstract
The peak flow of a flash flood is an important factor concerning flood risk management. Empirical approaches based on measured hydrological data at gauging sites can be applied to estimate flood peaks; however, they are not suitable for catchments with limited available rainfall and streamflow data, especially ungauged small mountainous catchments. This paper presents a novel method for estimating flash flood peaks in small mountainous catchments based on derived distributed geomorphologic unit hydrographs (DGUHs) using fuzzy -means (FCM) clustering. Data from 25,130 small mountainous catchments in Gansu Province, located in northwest China, are selected for this study. The results show that (1) the derived DGUHs can reflect the strong nonlinearity of the hydrologic process over small mountainous catchments; (2) the FCM clustering method performs well in the clustering of the DGUHs, and the optimal number of clusters in this case is insensitive to the excess rainfall intensity; and (3) empirical formulas based on catchment characteristics (including drainage area, length, and the longitudinal gradient of main channel networks) can estimate flash flood peaks accurately in small mountainous catchments.
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Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.
Acknowledgments
This study is financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (No. 2017YFC0406001) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 91647201, 91747102, and 51708086).
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 25 • Issue 12 • December 2020
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© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 24, 2020
Accepted: Jul 1, 2020
Published online: Sep 24, 2020
Published in print: Dec 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Feb 24, 2021
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