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Let-It-Rain: a web application for stochastic point rainfall generation at ungaged basins and its applicability in runoff and flood modeling

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Abstract

We present a web application named Let-It-Rain that is able to generate a 1-h temporal resolution synthetic rainfall time series using the modified Bartlett–Lewis rectangular pulse (MBLRP) model, a type of Poisson stochastic rainfall generator. Let-It-Rain, which can be accessed through the web address http://www.LetItRain.info, adopts a web-based framework combining ArcGIS Server from server side for parameter value dissemination and JavaScript from client side to implement the MBLRP model. This enables any desktop and mobile end users with internet access and web browser to obtain the synthetic rainfall time series at any given location at which the parameter regionalization work has been completed (currently the contiguous United States and Republic of Korea) with only a few mouse clicks. Let-It-Rain shows satisfactory performance in its ability to reproduce observed rainfall mean, variance, auto-correlation, and probability of zero rainfall at hourly through daily accumulation levels. It also shows a reasonably good performance in reproducing watershed runoff depth and peak flow. We expect that Let-It-Rain can stimulate the uncertainty analysis of hydrologic variables across the world.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Basic Research Laboratory Program (50 %, Grant ID: NRF-2015041523) and by the Basic Science Research Program (50 %, Grant ID: NRF-2013R1A1A1011676) through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul, 121-791, Republic of Korea

    Dongkyun Kim

  2. Dewberry, Atlanta, GA, 30022, USA

    Huidae Cho

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College, London, UK

    Christian Onof

  4. Water Resources and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Department of Water Resources, Graduate School of Water Resources, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 440-746, Republic of Korea

    Minha Choi

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  1. Dongkyun Kim
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  2. Huidae Cho
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  4. Minha Choi
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Correspondence to Dongkyun Kim.

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Kim, D., Cho, H., Onof, C. et al. Let-It-Rain: a web application for stochastic point rainfall generation at ungaged basins and its applicability in runoff and flood modeling. Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess 31, 1023–1043 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-016-1234-6

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