Abstract
This paper investigates the role of karst aquifers on flood generation and propagation using the Hayami Diffusive Wave (DW) model accounting for uniformly distributed lateral flows. The inverse model was applied on the main channel reaches of the Tarn basin at Millau (2,400 km2) in southern France to assess lateral inflows from karstic springs as well as lateral outflows from river losses. Results show that the DW model, which is simple, parsimonious, and easy-to-use, is able to quantify lateral flows avoiding difficult parameterisation. Surface/groundwater exchanges were characterised on several reaches along the stream, showing a highly variable attenuation/amplification influence of flood peak by karst units during a single flood event. We showed that the upstream part of the karst area have a dominant attenuation role by re-infiltrating part of runoff from the head-water basin in hard-rock areas, while the downstream part have a dominant amplification role due to high contributions of karst groundwater. These results improved the conceptual hydrogeological model of the Grands Causses region.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bailly-Comte V, Jourde H, Pistre S (2009) Conceptualization and classification of groundwater-surface water hydrodynamic interactions in karst watersheds: Case of the karst watershed of the Coulazou river (southern France). J Hydrol 376:456–462
Bailly-Comte V, Borrell-Estupina V, Jourde H, Pistre S (2012) A conceptual semidistributed model of the Coulazou river as a tool for assessing surface water–karst groundwater interactions during flood in Mediterranean ephemeral rivers. Water Resour Res 48:W09534
Charlier J-B, Bailly-Comte V, Desprats J-F (2012) Appui au SCHAPI 2012—Module 1—Mise en place d’un indicateur d’aide à la décision pour la prévision de crue en milieu karstique : le bassin du Tarn à Millau. BRGM report. RP-61816-FR, p 88
De Waele J, Martina MLV, Sanna L, Cabras S, Cossu QA (2010) Flash flood hydrology in karstic terrain: Flumineddu Canyon, central-east Sardinia. Geomorphology 120:162–173
Hayami S (1951) On the propagation of flood waves. Disaster Prev Res Inst Bull 1:1–16
Moussa R (1996) Analytical Hayami solution for the diffusive wave flood routing problem with lateral inflow. Hydrol Process 10:1209–1227
Acknowledgments
This work was financed by the SCHAPI and the BRGM. We thank Laurent Danneville from the Parc Naturel des Grands Causses for providing hydrogeological data.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Charlier, JB., Moussa, R., Bailly-Comte, V., Desprats, JF., Ladouche, B. (2015). How Karst Areas Amplify or Attenuate River Flood Peaks? A Response Using a Diffusive Wave Model with Lateral Flows. In: Andreo, B., Carrasco, F., Durán, J., Jiménez, P., LaMoreaux, J. (eds) Hydrogeological and Environmental Investigations in Karst Systems. Environmental Earth Sciences, vol 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17435-3_33
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17435-3_33
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-17434-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-17435-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)