Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/abb9dd
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) The flood cooking book: ingredients and regional flavors of floods across Germany
Author Merz, R.; Tarasova, L.; Basso, S.
Source Titel Environmental Research Letters
Year 2020
Department CATHYD
Volume 15
Issue 11
Page From art. 114024
Language englisch
Supplements https://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/15/11/114024/media/ERL_15_11_114024_suppdata.pdf
Keywords flood events, flood processes, soil moisture dynamics, random forests, natural hazard
Abstract River flooding is a major natural hazard worldwide, whose prediction is impaired by limited understanding of the interplay of processes triggering floods within large regions. In this study we use machine learning techniques such as decision trees and random forests to pinpoint spatio-temporal features of precipitation and catchment wetness states which led to floods among 177 267 rainfall-runoff events observed in 373 German river basins. In mountainous catchments with high annual precipitation rates and shallow soils, event rainfall characteristics primarily control flood occurrence, while wetness conditions and the spatial interplay between rainfall and catchment soil moisture drive flood occurrence even more than event rainfall volume in drier basins. The existence of a snow cover also enhances flood occurrence. The identified ingredients and regional flavors shed new light on the spatial dynamics of hydro-meteorological processes leading to floods and foster regional adaptation of flood management strategies and early warning systems.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=23881
Merz, R., Tarasova, L., Basso, S. (2020):
The flood cooking book: ingredients and regional flavors of floods across Germany
Environ. Res. Lett. 15 (11), art. 114024 10.1088/1748-9326/abb9dd