Non-identical models for seasonal flood frequency analysis

Abstract

The aim is to build a seasonal flood frequency analysis model and estimate seasonal design floods. The importance of seasonal flood frequency analysis and the advantages of considering seasonal design floods in the derivation of reservoir planning and operating rules are discussed, recognising that seasonal flood frequency models have been in use for over 30 years. A set of non-identical models with non-constant parameters is proposed and developed to describe flows that reflect seasonal flood variation. The peak-over-threshold (POT) sampling method was used, as it is considered to provide significantly more information on flood seasonality than annual maximum (AM) sampling and has better performance in flood seasonality estimation. The number of exceedences is assumed to follow the Poisson distribution (Po), while the peak exceedences are described by the exponential (Ex) and generalized Pareto (GP) distributions and a combination of both, resulting in three models, viz. Po-Ex, Po-GP and Po-Ex/GP. Their performances are analysed and compared. The Geheyan and the Baiyunshan reservoirs were chosen for the case study. The application and statistical experiment results show that each model has its merits and that the Po-Ex/GP model performs best. Use of the Po-Ex/GP model is recommended in seasonal flood frequency analysis for the purpose of deriving reservoir operation rules.