Nonstationary streamflow effects on backwater flood management of the Atchafalaya Basin, USA.

A non-stationary increasing streamflow trend has been observed on the Mississippi River and other major river basins around the world. The current study analyzed the non-stationary streamflow effects (NSFEs) on flood management in backwater areas adjacent to the Atchafalaya Basin floodway in Louisiana, USA. A continuous simulation hydrology model coupled with a quasi-two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of the basin floodway and surrounding regions was used to develop over 180 simulation scenarios by superimposing local flood events (early summer 2014 and late summer 2016) against 90-years' worth of daily Atchafalaya River streamflow hydrographs. The NSFE on the Atchafalaya River induced substantial reductions in the performance of major flood regulating structures with seasonal effects based on the annual flood cycle. Capacity reductions at the structures were demonstrated to trigger a cascade of effects in ostensibly protected backwater areas including amplification of erosion potential near the levee and within tidal passes during early summer floods. Increases in mean and peak flood levels on the order of 15-20 cm during local storm events were shown to extend as far as 20 km away from the floodway protection levee during both early and late summer local flooding scenarios. Low-lying areas closest to the levee were adversely affected during both the high (early summer) and low flow (late summer) periods of the annual discharge cycle. The approach and findings of this study are relevant for risk management in river basins around the world affected by NSFEs.

Miller RL 《-》

Evaluation of flood metrics across the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin and their relation to flood damages.

Societal risks from flooding are evident at a range of spatial scales and climate change will exacerbate these risks in the future. Assessing flood risks across broad geographical regions is a challenge, and often done using streamflow time-series records or hydrologic models. In this study, we used a national-scale hydrological model to identify, assess, and map 16 different streamflow metrics that could be used to describe flood risks across 34,987 HUC12 subwatersheds within the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB). A clear spatial difference was observed among two different classes of metrics. Watersheds in the eastern half of the MARB exhibited higher overall flows as characterized by the mean, median, and maximum daily values, whereas western MARB watersheds were associated with flood indicative of high extreme flows such as skewness, standardized streamflow index and top days. Total agricultural and building losses within HUC12 watersheds were related to flood metrics and those focused on higher overall flows were more correlated to expected annual losses (EAL) than extreme value metrics. Results from this study are useful for identifying continental scale patterns of flood risks within the MARB and should be considered a launching point from which to improve the connections between watershed scale risks and the potential use of natural infrastructure practices to reduce these risks.

Schilling KE ，Anderson ES ，Mount J ，Suttles K ，Gassman PW ，Cerkasova N ，White MJ ，Arnold JG ... -  《-》

Co-evolution of wetland landscapes, flooding, and human settlement in the Mississippi River Delta Plain.

Twilley RR ，Bentley SJ Sr ，Chen Q ，Edmonds DA ，Hagen SC ，Lam NS ，Willson CS ，Xu K ，Braud D ，Hampton Peele R ，McCall A ... -  《-》

Flood hazard delineation in an ungauged catchment by coupling hydrologic and hydraulic models with geospatial techniques-a case study of Koraiyar basin, Tiruchirappalli City, Tamil Nadu, India.

Natarajan S ，Radhakrishnan N 《-》

Flood risk behaviors of United States riverine metropolitan areas are driven by local hydrology and shaped by race.

Knighton J ，Hondula K ，Sharkus C ，Guzman C ，Elliott R ... -  《-》