Experimental evidence on the performance of rating curves for continuous discharge estimation in complex flow situations

Cheng, Zhengyang; Lee, Kyutae; Kim, Dongsu; Muste, Marian; Vidmar, Pete; Hulme, Jim

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.11.021

Cited by 19 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…While the index-velocity method is increasingly used, the experimental evidence documenting its performance is still scarce and some more subtle aspects of the method continue to be investigated. For example, detailed laboratory studies (Graf & Qu, 2004;Nezu & Nakagawa, 1995;Song & Graf, 1996;Tu, 1992) and field measurements (Cheng et al, 2019;Muste & Lee, 2013;Nihei & Sakai, 2006) hint at the conclusion that the index to cross-sectional channel velocity rating is non-unique for the rising and falling stages of a storm wave, displaying the trends illustrated in Fig. 3b (bottom).…”

Section: Ivrc Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The stream reach for this case study is located on the Snake River immediately below the CJ Strike Dam in Idaho, USA (Cheng et al, 2019). This station, along with other gauging sites on this river, experiences frequent flow changes developing very fast (i.e.…”

Section: Ivrc Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cases one and three illustrate that hysteresis is observable even in a small stream exposed to frequently occurring events (ISJP, 2016;Lee, 2013;Muste et al, 2019). The second case demonstrates the capabilities and limitations of the conventional HQRC and IVRC methods applied for unsteady flows developing at a site with a complex measurement environment, whereby the flow unsteadiness is significant and frequently occurring (Cheng et al, 2019).…”

Section: Hysteresis Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Graf & Qu, 2004) as well as with field measurements with the IVRC method (e.g. Cheng et al, 2019) and the CSA method (e.g. Muste et al, 2019).…”

Section: Time Phasing Of Hydrographsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revisiting hysteresis of flow variables in monitoring unsteady streamflows

Muste

Lee

Kim

et al. 2020

Journal of Hydraulic Research

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Conventional streamflow monitoring methods entail one-to-one relationships between two flow variables obtained by combining direct flow measurements with statistical analyses. These relationships (i.e. ratings) are used to monitor both steady and unsteady flows despite that in the latter cases the flow variables display an inherent hysteretic behaviour. Such behaviour is prominent if the wave passing through the gauging station is non-kinematic. This paper demonstrates that the index-velocity and continuous slope-area methods are more suitable to monitor unsteady flows in comparison with the widely used stage-discharge approach. Case studies are presented to show that, contrary to current perceptions in practical applications, hysteresis can be captured even in small streams and frequently-occurring runoff events. The paper also highlights the separation of the flow variable hydrographs in unsteady flows. This hysteresis-related aspect is less investigated so far despite having important practical implications for both hydrometric and fluvial transport applications.

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Section: Ivrc Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ivrc Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hysteresis Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Graf & Qu, 2004) as well as with field measurements with the IVRC method (e.g. Cheng et al, 2019) and the CSA method (e.g. Muste et al, 2019).…”

Section: Time Phasing Of Hydrographsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revisiting hysteresis of flow variables in monitoring unsteady streamflows

Muste

Lee

Kim

et al. 2020

Journal of Hydraulic Research

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“…The index-velocity method works well in steady flows (e.g., Cheng et al, 2019) but it is especially recommended for measurements in areas where unsteady flow and backwater occur (e.g., Morlock et al, 2002). The hydrometric community makes continuous efforts to improve the index-velocity method (e.g., Le Coz et al, 2008, Nihei & Kimizu, 2008and, Kastner et al, 2018, Cheng et al, 2019. However, at this time, the method performance has been much less investigated in comparison with the century-old stage-discharge approach.…”

Section: Table Of Contentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Human Systems in the Current Flood Modelling Practices

Abebe

2021

Preprint

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The most reliable method to measure streamflows in natural streams is the direct acquisition of discharge measurements. These measurements requires deployment of instruments and personal in the field and, in some cases, traversing the stream with measurement equipment several times. The most efficient contemporary instrument for direct discharge measurements is the Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) which measure flows relatively fast and accurate (±5.4 -7.4 % in steady flows according to Boldt & Oberg, 2015). During high flows, however, direct measurements are challenging because the adversity of the flow environment for the operators and equipment (WMO, 2010). While there are intensive efforts to conduct unassisted direct discharge measurement, currently only indirect approaches are used for continuous monitoring at station located in streams or rivers (Dottori et al., 2009). Specifically, real-time monitoring is based on the conventional stage-discharge method (labeled herein as HQRC) and, increasingly, on the index-velocity method (labelled herein as IVRC).Conventional monitoring methods rely on relationships (a.k.a., ratings) that link direct streamflow measurements with real-time, continuous measurements of independent variables that are easier captured with instruments deployed permanently at the site (e.g., stage or velocity). The simultaneous measurements for rating development are acquired episodically with the goal to cover the whole flow range passing through the monitoring site. The such-obtained ratings are essentially one-to-one relationships that are used to monitor both steady and unsteady flows despite that for the latter flow conditions the ratings do not properly account for the hysteretic behavior of the flow variables . Hysteresis, a key concept for the present study, is a generic term indicating that the status of a system at any given point is dependent on its history to reach that state (i.e., the state depends on the process memory). Such a process occurs when the gradual propagation of a natural flood wave enters the stream due to runoff produced in the station's drainage area by rainfalls.It is important to mention upfront that unsteady flows are ephemeral and, in many situations, their effects on the conventional methods are small, therefore no action is required. This is certainly the case for flows propagating as kinematic waves on larger streambed slopes. However, for intermediate and lowland streams exposed to fast-varying flows the hysteresis becomes prominent. While hysteresis is a process known to monitoring agencies, it has only received attention in flood-prone areas of large rivers (e.g., Mississippi) with the purpose to provide more accurate data for the streamflow forecasting models (Holmes, 2016) and more recently in areas subjected to highly unsteady flows (Morlock et al., 2002). In many other medium and small inland rivers (i.e., non-tidal) hysteresis is not accounted for, as there is a perception in the hydrometry community that the hysteresis effect is small a...

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A framework for estimating global river discharge from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite mission

Durand

Gleason

Pavelsky

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The forthcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will vastly expand measurements of global rivers, providing critical new datasets for both gaged and ungaged basins. SWOT discharge products will provide discharge for all river reaches wider than 100 m, but at lower accuracy and temporal resolution than what is possible in situ. In this paper, we describe how SWOT discharge produced and archived by the US and French space agencies will be computed from measurements of river water surface elevation, width, and slope and ancillary data, along with expected discharge accuracy. We present here for the first time a complete estimate of SWOT discharge uncertainty budget, with separate terms for random (standard error) and systematic (bias) uncertainty components in river discharge timeseries. We expect that discharge uncertainty will be less than 30% for two thirds of global reaches and will be dominated by bias. Separate river discharge estimates will combine both SWOT and in situ data; these "gage constrained" discharge estimates can be expected to have lower systematic uncertainty. Temporal variations in river discharge timeseries will be dominated by random error and are expected to be estimated to within 15% for nearly all reaches, allowing accurate inference of event flow dynamics globally, including in ungaged basins. We believe this level of accuracy lays the groundwork for SWOT to enable breakthroughs in global hydrologic science.

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Experimental evidence on the performance of rating curves for continuous discharge estimation in complex flow situations

Cited by 19 publications

References 26 publications

Revisiting hysteresis of flow variables in monitoring unsteady streamflows

Revisiting hysteresis of flow variables in monitoring unsteady streamflows

Integrating Human Systems in the Current Flood Modelling Practices

A framework for estimating global river discharge from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite mission

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