GIS Derived Synthetic Rating Curves and HAND Model to Support On-The-Fly Flood Mapping
Date
2021-10
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Abstract
This thesis examines how synthetic rating curves (SRCs) might support the incorporation of the Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) model into an On-The-Fly flood mapping web-application with a Canada-wide service. To create SRCs across Canada, a custom ArcGIS Pro tool called the Canadian Estimator of Ratings Curves using HAND and Discharge (CERC-HAND-D) was developed and designed to work with publicly available data. Because SRC accuracy is sensitive to roughness coefficient (n) values, three methods (single, weighted, and minimum-median) of representing multiple surface roughness types were experimented with. The tool was tested with control data from gauge stations across Central and Eastern Canadian study sites to analyse the effects of river length, river gradient, and the n methods on tool performance. The results of these tests indicated that CERC-HAND-D produces SRCs with higher accuracy (NRMSE = 3.7% - 8.8%) in areas with river gradients above 0.002 m/m and river lengths under 5-km, while none of the n methods notably increased tool performance. An additional test on flood mapping accuracy using both CERC-HAND-D and the HAND model, through recreating the 2011 Richelieu flood in Quebec, resulted in high scores for classification evaluation (MCC = 0.776 - 0.877). Based on the findings of this thesis, both CERC-HAND-D and the HAND model were applied to the development of a prototype for an On-The-Fly flood mapping web application.
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Keywords
GIS, Mapping, Floods, Disaster Management
Citation
Scriven, B. (2021). GIS derived synthetic rating curves and HAND model to support on-the-fly flood mapping (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.