Temporal and spatial variation of typhoon-induced surges and the impact of rainfall in a tidal river

Abstract

The Huangpu River, which flows into the Yangtze Estuary, runs through Shanghai Municipality in China. During the flood season, typhoon-induced surges result in extremely high water levels in the Huangpu River, which is the main factor threatening flood control safety in Shanghai. Based on observations of water levels at three stations along the Huangpu River from 2008 to 2021, together with wind and rainfall, this paper investigates: the trends of the annual highest storm surges; the differences in periodic variation and magnitude of surges during the spring-neap cycle; the longitudinal variation of surges; and the impact of rainfall. The results show that the annual highest surges at three stations all show a significant increasing trend, which is caused by the increasing wind speed, and the intensity and duration of rainfall during typhoon events, induced by the increasing frequency of landfall and close-to-YE (Yangtze Estuary) typhoon events, and strong and very strong typhoon events. The periodic variation and magnitude of surges show clear differences during the spring-neap cycle, resulting from the largest nonlinear surge-tide interaction during spring tide and the smallest during neap tide. Heavy rainfall can reduce the probability of 6–7 h and 2.7–3.3 h periods, and change the phase of the periodic variation, inducing partial main peaks and maximum surges during ebb or low tide. The longitudinal variation of storm surge along the Huangpu River can be divided into three types: decreasing upstream, first increasing then decreasing, and increasing upstream. Heavy and long-duration rainfall increases the water discharge from the basin to the river, amplifying the surge, with the largest impact in the upper reach and the smallest in the lower reach, which is the main factor inducing the latter two types, particularly the third type.