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Development of Low Flow Duration-Frequency Curves by Hybrid Frequency Analysis

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Abstract

In this study, duration-frequency curves were developed for D = 1, 7, 14, 30, 90 and 273-day low flows corresponding to the 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100-year return periods. For this, daily data acquired from streamflow gauging stations with minimized anthropogenic effects were used. A hybrid frequency analysis coupled with the total probability theorem was applied on D-day low sequences to accommodate zero values. Among the tested probability distribution functions, Generalized Extreme Value was found the best in fitting low flows for majority of cases. Low flow discharge increases with increasing duration while it decreases with increasing return period for a given duration. Low flow duration-frequency curves can be considered one among significant tools to be used by the hydrological community in water resources planning and management.

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Acknowledgements

This research study is based on the MSc thesis of the first author under supervision of the second. The research leading these study was inspired from the project entitled Low Flow and Drought Analysis in Hydrological Watersheds financially supported by the National Union of Geodesy and Geophysics of Turkey under Grant Agreement No. TUJJB-TUMEHAP-2015-01.

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The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architectural Restoration, Istanbul Ayvansaray University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Selen Orta

  2. Graduate School, Department of Management Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Selen Orta

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Hafzullah Aksoy

Authors
  1. Selen Orta
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  2. Hafzullah Aksoy
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Both authors contributed to the conception, design, and data analysis; prepared the draft paper; commented on its previous versions; and approved the final by reading the paper.

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Correspondence to Hafzullah Aksoy.

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Orta, S., Aksoy, H. Development of Low Flow Duration-Frequency Curves by Hybrid Frequency Analysis. Water Resour Manage 36, 1521–1534 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-022-03095-3

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