Evaluating Conveyance-Based DEM Correction Technique on NED and SRTM DEMs for Flood Impact Assessment of the 2010 Cumberland River Flood

Md Bhuyian,Faisal Hossain,Alfred Kalyanapu

doi:10.3390/geosciences7040132

Md Bhuyian, Faisal Hossain + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7040132

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Abstract

This study assessed the uncertainty in flood impact assessment (FIA) that may be introduced by errors in moderate resolution regional and moderate resolution global Digital Elevation Models (DEM). One arc-second National Elevation Dataset (NED) and one arc-second Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEMs were selected to represent moderate resolution regional and global DEMs. The relative performance for scenarios based on each of the DEMs was compared to a “control” terrain (combination of surveyed river bathymetry and a 1/3 arc-second LiDAR for floodplains)-based scenario. Furthermore, a conveyance-based DEM correction technique was applied to the DEMs for investigating the suitability of the technique on selected DEMs, and determining subsequent improvement in the FIA. The May 2010 flood on the Cumberland River near Nashville, TN, was selected as the case study. It was found that the hydraulic properties necessary to implement the selected DEM correction technique could be more readily estimated from NED compared to SRTM. However, this study also prescribed alternate methods to extract necessary hydraulic properties if the DEM quality was compromised. NED-based hydrodynamic modeling resulted in a high overestimation of the simulated flood stage, but the SRTM-based model was unable to produce any reasonable result prior to DEM correction. Nevertheless, after DEM correction, both models became stable and produced less error. Error in simulated flood consequence (i.e., total structures affected and total loss in dollars) also dropped accordingly, following the DEM correction. Therefore, application of this conveyance-based correction technique is reasonably effective on both moderate-resolution regional and global DEMs. The effectiveness of the technique on moderate resolution global DEM underscores the potential for users of remote and data-poor areas.

Highlights

Floods account for 43% of all natural disasters [1] that cause death, adverse health effects, property damage, and socio-economic imbalance [2,3,4]
National Elevation Dataset (NED)-based hydrodynamic modeling resulted in a high overestimation of the simulated flood stage, but the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)-based model was unable to produce any reasonable result prior to Digital Elevation Models (DEM) correction
DEMs one moderate resolution global DEM dataset for flood impact assessment (FIA) of the 2010 Nashville flood

Summary

Introduction

Floods account for 43% of all natural disasters [1] that cause death, adverse health effects, property damage, and socio-economic imbalance [2,3,4]. By 2001, flooding became seven times more frequent around the world compared to 1975. From 1975 to 2001, the number of people at risk and fatalities due to floods increased by nine times [5]. The increasing trend of flood disasters continued into the 21st century as well. Between 1995 and 2015, floods affected 2.3 billion people globally and killed 157,000 [1]. Two-thirds of flood-related economic losses remain unreported [8]. This data gap is more prevalent in developing countries than in developed ones. It is a global concern because sustainable flood risk

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