Substantial evidence shows that the frequency of hydrological extremes has been changing and is likely to continue to change in the near future. Non-stationary models for flood frequency analyses are one method of accounting for these changes in estimating design values. The objective of the present study is to compare four models in terms of goodness of fit, their uncertainties, the parameter estimation methods and the implications for estimating flood quantiles. Stationary and non-stationary models using the GEV distribution were considered, with parameters dependent on time and on annual precipitation. Furthermore, in order to study the influence of the parameter estimation approach on the results, the maximum likelihood (MLE) and Bayesian Monte Carlo Markov chain (MCMC) methods were compared. The methods were tested for two gauging stations in Slovenia that exhibit significantly increasing trends in annual maximum (AM) discharge series. The comparison of the models suggests that the stationary model tends to underestimate flood quantiles relative to the non-stationary models in recent years. The model with annual precipitation as a covariate exhibits the best goodness-of-fit performance. For a 10% increase in annual precipitation, the 10-year flood increases by 8%. Use of the model for design purposes requires scenarios of future annual precipitation. It is argued that these may be obtained more reliably than scenarios of extreme event precipitation which makes the proposed model more practically useful than alternative models.
Longwave radiation, as part of the radiation balance, is one of the factors needed to estimate potential evapotranspiration (PET). Since the longwave radiation balance is rarely measured, many computational methods have been designed. In this study, we report on the difference between the observed longwave radiation balance and modelling results obtained using the two main procedures outlined in FAO24 (relying on the measured sunshine duration) and FAO56 (based on the measured solar radiation) manuals. The performance of these equations was evaluated in the April–October period over eight years at the Liz experimental catchment and grass surface in the Bohemian Forest (Czech Republic). The coefficients of both methods, which describe the influence of cloudiness factor and atmospheric emissivity of the air, were calibrated. The Penman-Monteith method was used to calculate the PET. The use of default coefficient values gave errors of 40–100 mm (FAO56) and 0–20 mm (FAO24) for the seasonal PET estimates (the PET was usually overestimated). Parameter calibration decreased the FAO56 error to less than 20 mm per season (FAO24 remained unaffected by the calibration). The FAO56 approach with calibrated coefficients proved to be more suitable for estimation of the longwave radiation balance.
The use of environmentally-friendly materials in hydraulic engineering (e.g. the stone lining of weirs at levees) calls for the more accurate estimation of the discharge coefficient for broad-crested weirs with a rough crest surface. However, in the available literature sources the discharge coefficient of broad-crested weirs is usually expressed for a smooth crest. The authors of this paper have summarized the theoretical knowledge related to the effect of weir crest surface roughness on the discharge coefficient. The method of determination of the head-discharge relation for broad-crested weirs with a rough crest surface is proposed based on known discharge coefficient values for smooth surfaces and on the roughness parameters of the weir. For selected scenarios the theoretical results were compared with experimental research carried out at the Laboratory of Water Management Research, Faculty of Civil Engineering (FCE), Brno University of Technology (BUT). and Používání přírodě blízkých materiálů ve vodním hospodářství (např. kamenná opevnění povrchu přelivů v ochranných hrázích) vyvolává požadavek přesnějšího stanovení součinitele průtoku pro přelivy se širokou a hydraulicky drsnou korunou. V dostupných literárních pramenech je součinitel průtoku přelivů se širokou korunou obvykle vyjádřen pouze pro hladký povrch koruny přelivu. Autoři článku shrnuli teoretické poznatky týkající se vlivu drsnosti povrchu koruny přelivu na součinitel průtoku a navrhli metodu pro stanovení způsobu hydraulického výpočtu konzumční křivky přepadu přes přeliv se širokou a drsnou korunou. Postup vychází ze znalosti součinitele průtoku přelivu s hladkou korunou a charakteristik drsnosti. Pro vybrané scénáře byly teoreticky vypočítané hodnoty porovnány s výsledky experimentálního výzkumu uskutečněného v Laboratoři vodohospodářského výzkumu Ústavu vodních staveb, Fakulty stavební, Vysokého učení technického v Brně.
In normal practice, during the estimation of reservoir storage uncertainties affecting the values of mean monthly discharge series are not normally considered, and usually no estimates of these are known. Therefore, the question arises as to whether the results of the estimation of the capacity of storage reservoirs may be affected by uncertainties in the discharge series. The aim of this article is the suggestion of a possible approach to estimating the level of uncertainties affecting the elements of mean monthly discharge series. These discharge series are subsequently integrated into water reservoir storage capacity calculations, and the significance of the proposed approach is explored. and Nejistoty členů řad průměrných měsíčních průtoků nejsou v běžné praxi udávány, není ani znám odhad jejích velikostí. Otázkou rovněž je, zda nejistotami zatížené průtokové řady mohou ovlivnit výsledky vodohospodářského řešení zásobní funkce vodní nádrže. Cílem článku je naznačení možného postupu odhadu míry nejistot zatěžujících členy průtokové řady průměrných měsíčních průtoků a následné začlenění uvedené řady do výpočtů zásobního objemu vodní nádrže a posouzení významu uvedeného postupu.
River runoff and sediment transport are two related random hydrologic variables. The traditional statistical analysis method usually requires those two variables to be linearly correlated, and also have an identical marginal distribution. Therefore, it is difficult to know exactly the characteristics of the runoff and sediment in reality. For this reason, copulas are applied to construct the joint probability distribution of runoff and sediment in this article. The risk of synchronous-asynchronous encounter probability of annual rich-poor runoff and sediment is also studied. At last, the characteristics of annual runoff and sediment with multi-time scales in its joint probability distribution space are simulated by empirical mode decomposition method. The results show that the copula function can simulate the joint probability distribution of runoff and sediment of Huaxia hydrological station in Weihe River well, and that such joint probability distribution has very complex change characteristics at time scales.
This paper develops an account of judge-dependence, conceived of as a generalization of the better known notion of response-dependence. It then solves a number of problems for the view that aesthetic judgements are judge-dependent in this sense. Finally, a parallel case for the judge-dependence of moral judgement is assessed.
The layering of the soil profile can influence the accumulation of infiltrated water and the way in which subsurface runoff is formed. This paper examines a mountain podzol characterized by clearly developed soil horizons. After these horizons had been identified, distinct soil layers were defined (the eluvial horizon, the spodic horizon (undifferentiated), and weathered bedrock). Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), particle size distribution and bulk density were measured in these layers. A visualization of the distribution of infiltrated water in the podzolic profile was performed using a dye tracer experiment. The accumulation of dyed water and a distinct lateral flow were detected in the eluvial layer. Only limited entry of water into the spodic layer was observed. These effects were caused by changes in soil hydraulic properties (SHP) among the investigated layers. For the spodic horizons, the measured Ks value (crucial SHP) was significantly lower than the Ks values for the other tested horizons. The probable reason for the lower Ks was an accumulation of fine particles and various substances in the spodic horizons, and corresponding changes in the porous system. The observed effects of layering indicate that water can be accumulated and subsurface runoff can be formed over the spodic layer during intensive rain or snow melting.
In slurry transport of settling slurries in Newtonian fluids, it is often stated that one should apply a line speed above a critical velocity, because blow this critical velocity there is the danger of plugging the line. There are many definitions and names for this critical velocity. It is referred to as the velocity where a bed starts sliding or the velocity above which there is no stationary bed or sliding bed. Others use the velocity where the hydraulic gradient is at a minimum, because of the minimum energy consumption. Most models from literature are one term one equation models, based on the idea that the critical velocity can be explained that way. Here the following definition is used: The critical velocity is the line speed below which there may be either a stationary bed or a sliding bed, depending on the particle diameter and the pipe diameter, but above which no bed (stationary or sliding) exists, the Limit Deposit Velocity (LDV). The way of determining the LDV depends on the particle size, where 5 regions are distinguished. These regions for sand and gravel are roughly; very small particles up to 0.014-0.040 mm (d < δv), small particles from δv-0.2 mm, medium particles in a transition region from 0.2-2.00 mm, large particles > 2 mm and very large particles > 0.015·Dp. The lower limit of the LDV is the transition between a sliding bed and heterogeneous transport. The new model is partly based on physics and correlates well with experiments from literature.