Abstract
In the study of flash-flood occurrence in small catchments the lack of flow measurements is often one of the main limiting factors. Prior to estimating the forecasting potentialities and techniques for such events, an accurate reconstruction of past event flood dynamics is first required. This issue is here addressed by analyzing, with the use of a distributed hydrological model, the hydrometeorological conditions in which a severe flash-flood occurred, on October 1992, on a 48 square kilometers catchment in the Arno basin. Such an event was caused by the persistence of intense convective clusters on the background of widespread rain bands of frontal origin. The distributed hydrological model here adopted is devoted to simulate the evolution and the variability of the primary processes involved in the runoff cycle. Together with the hydrological model structure, other particular aspects of the event reconstruction procedure are discussed: the managing and processing of the information coming from different sensors, with different temporal and spatial resolutions; the identification of local precipitation dynamics (frontal or convective) within small areas of integrated radar and rain gauges data fields; the interpolation of rain gauge data on the basis of the radar-estimated spatial correlation. The results of the distributed modeling, concerning the estimate of the flood wave at various sites, are compared with analogous results obtained with simpler lumped models.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott, M.B., Bathurst, J.C., Cunge, J.A., O'Connel, P.E. and Rasmussen, J.: 1986, ‘An Introduction to the European Hydrologic System-Systeme Hydrologique European, “SHE”, 1: History and Philosophy of a Physically-Based Distributed Modelling System’,J. Hydrol. 87, 45–59.
A.M.-ITAV - Servizio Meteorologico: 1992,Cartello meteorologico,XXXIII, 303–305.
Azimi-Zonooz, A., Krajeski, W.F., Bowles, D.S. and Seo, D.J.: 1989, ‘Spatial Rainfall Estimation by Linear and non Linear Co-Kriging of Radar-Rainfall and Raingage Data’,Stoch. Hydrol. Hydraul. 3, 51–67.
Barancourt, C., Creutin, J.D. and Rivoirard, J.: 1992, ‘A Method for Delineating and Estimating Rainfall Fields’,Water Resour. Res. 28(4), 1133–1144.
Battan, L.J. (1973).Radar Observation of the Atmosphere, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill.
Becchi, I., and Bemporad, G.A.: 1985, ‘Small Basin Hydrology: Review of the Absorptive Phenomenon’,DIC, Firenze,1.
Becchi, I., and Federici, G. (1986). ‘Hydrological Grid Model for Simulation of Absorption Phenomena’,Intern. Conference on the Arno Project, Firenze.
Becchi, I., and Giuli, D.: 1986, ‘The Arno Project: A Real Time Approach to the Arno River Flooding Forecast’,Intern. Conference on the Arno Project, Firenze.
Becchi, I., Caporali, E., Federici, G. and Palmisano, E.: 1989, ‘Un modello distribuito per lo studio del bacino dell'Arno: analisi idrologica della Sieve’,Acqua Aria 10, 1129–1144.
Becchi, I., Gherardelli, M., Facheris, L. and Palmisano, E.: 1990, ‘Radar Site and Field of Experiments’,Workshop on The Role of Radar in the Arno Project: Related Problems and Research Opportunities, Firenze.
Becchi, I., Caporali, E. and Palmisano, E.: 1993, ‘Hydrological Response to Radar Rainfall Maps Through A Distributed Model’,Adv. in Natur. and Techol. Hazards Res. 4, (in press).
Becchi, I., and Petrucci, A.: 1993, ‘The Role of G.I.S. in Flooding Risk Analysis’,Workshop on Geographic Information Systems in Assessing Natural Hazards, (abstracts), La Colombella, Univ. for Foreigners, Perugia.
Benjamin, J.R. and Cornell, C.A.: 1970,Probability, Statistics and Decision for Civil Engineers, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Beven, K. (1985). ‘Distributed Models’, in:Hydrological Forecasting, ed. by Anderson, M.G. & T.P. Burt, John Wiley, New York, pp. 405–435.
Beven, K.: 1989, ‘Changing Ideas in Hydrology - The Case of Physically-Based Models’,J. of Hydrol. 105, 157–172.
Beven, K. and O'Connell, P.E.: 1982, ‘On the Role of Distributed Models in Hydrology’,Rep. 81, Inst. of Hydrol., Wallingford, U. K.
Brandes, E.A.: 1975, ‘Optimizing Rainfall Estimates with the Aid of Radar’,J. Appl. Meteorol. 14(7), 1339–1345.
Bras, R.L.: 1990,Hydrology-An Introduction to Hydrologic Science, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.
Busoni, E., C. Calzolari, and D. Torri: 1986, ‘Utilizzazione della cartografia pedologica per la stima delle caratteristiche idrologiche del suolo’, C.N.R. Gruppo Nazionale per la Difesa dalle Catastrofi Idrogeologiche.
Casini, M.: 1992,La previsione del rischio di esondazione con un sistema di monitoraggio in tempo reale. Il sistema del bacino dell'Arno, Azione di Sviluppo per la Protezione Civile, Giunta Regionale, Regione Toscana, Firenze.
Collier, C.G.: 1986, ‘Accuracy of Rainfall Estimates by Radar, Part I: Calibration by Telemetring Raingauges’,J. Clim. Appl. Meteorol. 83, 207–223.
Collier, C.G., Larke, P.R. and May, B.R.: 1983, ‘A Weather Radar Correction Procedure for Real-Time Estimation of Surface Rainfall,Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 109, 589–608.
Doviak, R.J., and Zrnic, D.S.: 1984,Doppler Radar and Weather Observations, Academic Press, San Diego, Calif.
Gupta, V.K., Waymire, E. and Wang, C.T.: 1980, ‘A Representation of an Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph from Geomorphology’,Water Resour. Res. 16(5), 855–862.
Houze, R.A.Jr.: 1981, ‘Structures of Atmospheric Precipitation Systems: A Global Survey’,Radio Science 16(5), 671–689.
James, P.K. and Browing, K.A.: 1979, ‘Mesoscale Structure of Line Convection at Surface Cold Fronts’,Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 105, 371–382.
Kafritsas, J. and Bras, R.L.: 1984, ‘The Practice of Kriging’, 2nd ed.,Rep. 263, Ralph M. Parsons Lab., Mass. Inst. of Technol., Cambridge.
Krajeski, W.F.: 1987, ‘Co-Kriging Radar-Rainfall and Rain Gage Data’,J. Geophys. Res. 92(D8), 9571–9580.
Kuczera, G. and Williams, B.J.: 1992, ‘Effect of Rainfall Errors on Accuracy of Design Flood Estimates’,Water Resour. Res. 28(4), 1145–1153.
Lanza, L. and Conti, M.: 1994, ‘Cloud Tracking using Satellite Data for Predicting the Probability of Heavy Rainfall Events in the Mediterranean Area’,Surveys in Geophysics, this issue.
Llasat, M.C. and Puigcerver, M.: 1990, ‘Cold Air Pools over Europe’,Meteorol. Atmos. Phys. 42, 171–177.
Myers, D.E.: 1985: ‘Co-Kriging: Methods and Alternatives’, inThe Role of Data in Scientific Progress, edited by P. Glaeser, 425–428, Elsevier Science, New York.
National Research Council-National Research Group for the Prevention of Hydrogeological Disasters (1993).L'Esposizione a Rischio delle Regioni Italiane: Conoscere per Decidere, la Sintesi dell'Informazione (oral communications), Roma.
Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. and Valdes, J.B.: 1979, ‘The Geomorphologic Structure of Hydrologic Response’,Water Resour. Res. 15(6), 1409–1420.
Rodriguez-Iturbe, I., Gupta, V.K. and Waymire, E.: 1984, ‘Scale Considerations in the Modeling of Temporal Rainfall’,Water Resour. Res. 20(2), 1611–1619.
Rosso, R.: 1984, ‘Nash Model Relation to Horton Order Ratios’,Water Resour. Res. 20(7), 914–920.
Scarchilli, G., Gorgucci, E., Giuli, D., Facheris, L., Freni A. and Vezzani, G.: 1991, ‘Arno Project: Evolution of Data Processing Techniques in Dual Polarization Radar’, Proc. 25th International Conference on Radar Meteorology, Paris, 805–808.
Seo, D.J., Krajeski, W.F. and Bowles, D.S.: 1990a, ‘Stochastic Interpolation of Rainfall Data from Rain Gages and Radar using Cokriging, 1: Design of Experiments’,Water Resour. Res. 26(5), 469–477.
Seo, D.J., Krajeski, W.F., Azimi-Zonooz, A. and Bowles, D.S.: 1990b, ‘Stochastic Interpolation of Rainfall Data from Rain Gages and Radar Using Cokriging, 2: Results’,Water Resour. Res. 26(5), 915–924.
Sheperd, G.W., Cluckie, I.D., Collier, C.G., Yu S. and James, P.K.: 1988, ‘The Identification of Rainfall Type from Weather Radar Data’,Meteorological Magazine 117, 180–186.
Strahler, A. N.: 1952, ‘Hypsometric (Area-Altitude) Analysis of Erosional Topography’,Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 63, 1117–1142.
Tabios, G.Q.III and Salas, J.D.: 1985, ‘A Comparative Analysis of Techniques for Spatial Interpolation of Precipitation’,Water Resour. Bull. 21(3), 365–380.
Vieri, A.: 1990, ‘Gestione informatica di dati Iitologici: applicazione al bacino dell'Arno’, Grad. thesis, Dep. of Civil Engin., Hydraulic Section, University of Firenze, Firenze.
Waymire, E., Gupta, V.K. and Rodriguez-Iturbe, I.: 1984, ‘A Spectral Theory of Rainfall Intensity at Meso-β Scale’,Water Resour. Res. 20(10), 1453–1465.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Becchi, I., Caporali, E., Castellani, L. et al. Hydrological control of flooding: Tuscany, October 1992. Surv Geophys 16, 227–252 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00665781
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00665781