Pub Date : 2023-09-08DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-3015-2023
Weizhi Yang, Zhongyang Wang, Baosheng An, Yingying Chen, Chuanxi Zhao, Chenhui Li, Yongjie Wang, Weicai Wang, Jiu-le Li, Guangjian Wu, L. Bai, Fannie Zhang, T. Yao
Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings have recently experienced several catastrophic glacier-related disasters. It is of great scientific and practical significance to establish ground-based early warning systems (EWSs) to understand the processes and mechanisms of glacial disasters and warn against potential threats to downstream settlements and infrastructure. However, there are few sophisticated EWSs on the Tibetan Plateau. With the support of the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STPSER), an EWS was developed and implemented in the Sedongpu Valley, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, where repeated river blockages have occurred due to ice/rock collapse debris flow. The EWS collected datasets of optical/thermal videos/photos, geophone waveforms, water levels, and meteorological variables in this sparsely populated zone. It has successfully warned against three ice-rock collapse–debris flow–river blockage chain events, and seven small-scale ice-rock collapse–debris flow events. Meanwhile, it was found that the low-cost geophone can effectively indicate the occurrence and magnitude of ice/rock collapses by local thresholds, and water level observation is an efficient way to warn of river blockages. Our observations showed that there were no immediate meteorological triggers for the ice-rock collapses and associated debris flows. Several factors, such as the volume and location of the collapses and the percentage of ice content involved, influence the velocities of debris flows and the magnitude of river blockages. There are still two possible glaciers in the study area that are at risk of ice collapse. It is worth monitoring their dynamic changes using high-resolution satellite data and the ground-based EWS to safeguard the surrounding hydrological projects and infrastructure in this transboundary region.
{"title":"Early warning system for ice collapses and river blockages in the Sedongpu Valley, southeastern Tibetan Plateau","authors":"Weizhi Yang, Zhongyang Wang, Baosheng An, Yingying Chen, Chuanxi Zhao, Chenhui Li, Yongjie Wang, Weicai Wang, Jiu-le Li, Guangjian Wu, L. Bai, Fannie Zhang, T. Yao","doi":"10.5194/nhess-23-3015-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3015-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings have recently experienced several catastrophic glacier-related disasters. It is of great scientific and practical significance to establish ground-based early warning systems (EWSs) to understand the processes and mechanisms of glacial disasters and warn against potential threats to downstream settlements and infrastructure. However, there are few sophisticated EWSs on the Tibetan Plateau. With the support of the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STPSER), an EWS was developed and\u0000implemented in the Sedongpu Valley, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, where\u0000repeated river blockages have occurred due to ice/rock collapse debris flow.\u0000The EWS collected datasets of optical/thermal videos/photos, geophone\u0000waveforms, water levels, and meteorological variables in this sparsely\u0000populated zone. It has successfully warned against three ice-rock collapse–debris flow–river blockage chain events, and seven small-scale ice-rock collapse–debris flow events. Meanwhile, it was found that the low-cost geophone can effectively indicate the occurrence and magnitude of ice/rock collapses by local thresholds, and water level observation is an efficient way to warn of river blockages. Our observations showed that there were no immediate meteorological triggers for the ice-rock collapses and associated debris flows. Several factors, such as the volume and location of the collapses and the percentage of ice content involved, influence the velocities of debris flows and the magnitude of river blockages. There are still two possible glaciers in the study area that are at risk of ice collapse. It is worth monitoring their dynamic changes using high-resolution satellite data and the ground-based EWS to safeguard the surrounding hydrological projects and infrastructure in this transboundary region.\u0000","PeriodicalId":18922,"journal":{"name":"Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44839294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-08DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-3051-2023
S. Hergarten
Abstract. Rockslides are a major hazard in mountainous regions. In formerly glaciated regions, the disposition mainly arises from oversteepened topography and decreases through time. However, little is known about this decrease and thus about the present-day hazard of huge, potentially catastrophic rockslides. This paper presents a new theoretical concept that combines the decrease in disposition with the power-law distribution of rockslide volumes found in several studies. The concept starts from a given initial set of potential events, which are randomly triggered through time at a probability that depends on event size. The developed theoretical framework is applied to paraglacial rockslides in the European Alps, where available data allow for constraining the parameters reasonably well. The results suggest that the probability of triggering increases roughly with the cube root of the volume. For small rockslides up to 1000 m3, an exponential decrease in the frequency with an e-folding time longer than 65 000 years is predicted. In turn, the predicted e-folding time is shorter than 2000 years for volumes of 10 km3, so the occurrence of such huge rockslides is unlikely at the present time. For the largest rockslide possible at the present time, a median volume of 0.5 to 1 km3 is predicted. With a volume of 0.27 km3, the artificially triggered rockslide that hit the Vaiont reservoir in 1963 is thus not extraordinarily large. Concerning its frequency of occurrence, however, it can be considered a 700- to 1200-year event.
{"title":"The concept of event-size-dependent exhaustion and its application to paraglacial rockslides","authors":"S. Hergarten","doi":"10.5194/nhess-23-3051-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3051-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Rockslides are a major hazard in mountainous regions. In formerly glaciated regions, the disposition mainly arises from oversteepened topography and\u0000decreases through time. However, little is known about this decrease and thus about the present-day hazard of huge, potentially catastrophic\u0000rockslides. This paper presents a new theoretical concept that combines the decrease in disposition with the power-law distribution of rockslide\u0000volumes found in several studies. The concept starts from a given initial set of potential events, which are randomly triggered through time at a\u0000probability that depends on event size. The developed theoretical framework is applied to paraglacial rockslides in the European Alps, where available data allow for constraining the parameters reasonably well. The results suggest that the probability of triggering increases roughly with the cube root of the volume. For small rockslides up to 1000 m3, an exponential decrease in the frequency with an e-folding time longer than 65 000 years is predicted. In turn, the predicted e-folding time is shorter than 2000 years for volumes of 10 km3, so the occurrence of such huge rockslides is unlikely at the present time. For the largest rockslide possible at the present time, a median volume of 0.5 to 1 km3 is predicted. With a volume of 0.27 km3, the artificially triggered rockslide that hit the Vaiont reservoir in 1963 is thus not extraordinarily large. Concerning its frequency of occurrence, however, it can be considered a 700- to 1200-year event.\u0000","PeriodicalId":18922,"journal":{"name":"Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42282292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-08DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-3031-2023
Huaiqun Zhao, Wenkai Chen, Can Zhang, Dengjie Kang
Abstract. Accurate and rapid assessment of seismic intensity after a destructive earthquake is essential for efficient early emergency response. We proposed an improved method, AL-SM99, to assess seismic intensity by analyzing aftershock sequences that occur within 2 h of mainshocks. The implementation effect and application conditions of this method were illustrated using 27 earthquakes with Mw 6.5–8.3 that occurred globally between 2000 and 2023. When the fault system in the seismic region is clear and simple, the robust LOWESS-fitted (locally weighted regression program) curves could be used to estimate the location and length of the fault rupture. LOWESS results can indicate the overall rupture trend and make reliable rupture-scale judgments even when the fault system is complex. When Mw ≥ 7.0 and the number of aftershocks exceeds 40, the AL-SM99 intensity evaluation results may be more reliable. Using aftershock catalogues obtained by conventional means allows for a stable assessment of seismic intensities within 1.5 h of the mainshock. When the number of aftershocks is sufficiently large, the intensity assessment time can be greatly reduced. With early accessible aftershocks, we can quickly determine the rupture fault planes and have a better estimate of the seismic intensities. The results of the intensity assessment provide a useful guide for determining the extent of the hardest-hit areas. By expanding the data sources for seismic intensity assessment, the early accessible data are utilized adequately. This study provides a valuable reference point for investigating the relationship between early aftershock events and fault rupture.
{"title":"Rapid estimation of seismic intensities by analyzing early aftershock sequences using the robust locally weighted regression program (LOWESS)","authors":"Huaiqun Zhao, Wenkai Chen, Can Zhang, Dengjie Kang","doi":"10.5194/nhess-23-3031-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3031-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Accurate and rapid assessment of seismic intensity after a destructive earthquake is essential for efficient early emergency response. We proposed\u0000an improved method, AL-SM99, to assess seismic intensity by analyzing aftershock sequences that occur within 2 h of mainshocks. The\u0000implementation effect and application conditions of this method were illustrated using 27 earthquakes with Mw 6.5–8.3 that occurred\u0000globally between 2000 and 2023. When the fault system in the seismic region is clear and simple, the robust LOWESS-fitted (locally weighted regression program) curves could be used to estimate the location and length of the fault rupture. LOWESS results can indicate the overall rupture trend\u0000and make reliable rupture-scale judgments even when the fault system is complex. When Mw ≥ 7.0 and the number of aftershocks\u0000exceeds 40, the AL-SM99 intensity evaluation results may be more reliable. Using aftershock catalogues obtained by conventional means allows for a\u0000stable assessment of seismic intensities within 1.5 h of the mainshock. When the number of aftershocks is sufficiently large, the intensity assessment time can be greatly reduced. With early accessible aftershocks, we can quickly determine the rupture fault planes and have a better estimate of the seismic intensities. The results of the intensity assessment provide a useful guide for determining the extent of the hardest-hit areas. By expanding the data sources for seismic intensity assessment, the early accessible data are utilized adequately. This study provides a valuable reference point for investigating the relationship between early aftershock events and fault rupture.\u0000","PeriodicalId":18922,"journal":{"name":"Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43127448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-07DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-2987-2023
C. Bloom, C. Singeisen, T. Stahl, A. Howell, C. Massey, D. Mason
Abstract. Coastal hillslopes often host higher concentrations of earthquake-induced landslides than those further inland, but few studies have investigated the reasons for this occurrence. As a result, it is unclear if regional earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility models trained primarily on inland hillslopes are effective predictors of coastal susceptibility. The 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake on the northeastern South Island of New Zealand resulted in ca. 1600 landslides > 50 m2 on slopes > 15∘ within 1 km of the coast, contributing to an order of magnitude greater landslide source area density than inland hillslopes within 1 to 3 km of the coast. In this study, logistic regression modelling is used to investigate how landslide susceptibility differs between coastal and inland hillslopes and to determine the factors that drive the distribution of coastal landslides initiated by the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. Strong model performance (area under the receiver operator characteristic curve or AUC of ca. 0.80 to 0.92) was observed across eight models, which adopt four simplified geology types. The same landslide susceptibility factors, primarily geology, steep slopes, and ground motion, are strong model predictors for both inland and coastal landslide susceptibility in the Kaikōura region. In three geology types (which account for more than 90 % of landslide source areas), a 0.03 or less drop in model AUC is observed when predicting coastal landslides using inland-trained models. This suggests little difference between the features driving inland and coastal landslide susceptibility in the Kaikōura region. Geology is similarly distributed between inland and coastal hillslopes, and peak ground acceleration (PGA) is generally lower in coastal hillslopes. Slope angle, however, is significantly higher in coastal hillslopes and provides the best explanation for the high density of coastal landslides during the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. Existing regional earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility models trained on inland hillslopes using common predictive features are likely to capture this signal without additional predictive variables. Interestingly, in the Kaikōura region, most coastal hillslopes are isolated from the ocean by uplifted shore platforms. Enhanced coastal landslide susceptibility from this event appears to be a legacy effect of past erosion from wave action, which preferentially steepened these coastal hillslopes.
{"title":"Coastal earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility during the 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake, New Zealand","authors":"C. Bloom, C. Singeisen, T. Stahl, A. Howell, C. Massey, D. Mason","doi":"10.5194/nhess-23-2987-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2987-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Coastal hillslopes often host higher concentrations of\u0000earthquake-induced landslides than those further inland, but few studies\u0000have investigated the reasons for this occurrence. As a result, it is\u0000unclear if regional earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility models\u0000trained primarily on inland hillslopes are effective predictors of coastal\u0000susceptibility. The 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake on the\u0000northeastern South Island of New Zealand resulted in ca. 1600 landslides > 50 m2 on slopes > 15∘ within 1 km of\u0000the coast, contributing to an order of magnitude greater landslide source\u0000area density than inland hillslopes within 1 to 3 km of the coast. In this\u0000study, logistic regression modelling is used to investigate how landslide\u0000susceptibility differs between coastal and inland hillslopes and to determine\u0000the factors that drive the distribution of coastal landslides initiated by\u0000the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake. Strong model performance (area under the\u0000receiver operator characteristic curve or AUC of ca. 0.80 to 0.92) was\u0000observed across eight models, which adopt four simplified geology types. The\u0000same landslide susceptibility factors, primarily geology, steep slopes, and\u0000ground motion, are strong model predictors for both inland and coastal\u0000landslide susceptibility in the Kaikōura region. In three geology types\u0000(which account for more than 90 % of landslide source areas), a 0.03 or\u0000less drop in model AUC is observed when predicting coastal landslides using\u0000inland-trained models. This suggests little difference between the features\u0000driving inland and coastal landslide susceptibility in the Kaikōura\u0000region. Geology is similarly distributed between inland and coastal\u0000hillslopes, and peak\u0000ground acceleration (PGA) is generally lower in coastal hillslopes. Slope angle,\u0000however, is significantly higher in coastal hillslopes and provides the best\u0000explanation for the high density of coastal landslides during the 2016\u0000Kaikōura earthquake. Existing regional earthquake-induced landslide\u0000susceptibility models trained on inland hillslopes using common predictive\u0000features are likely to capture this signal without additional predictive\u0000variables. Interestingly, in the Kaikōura region, most coastal\u0000hillslopes are isolated from the ocean by uplifted shore platforms. Enhanced\u0000coastal landslide susceptibility from this event appears to be a legacy\u0000effect of past erosion from wave action, which preferentially steepened\u0000these coastal hillslopes.\u0000","PeriodicalId":18922,"journal":{"name":"Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41652875","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-06DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-2937-2023
Alba Marquez Torres, Giovanni Signorello, Sudeshna Kumar, Greta Adamo, Ferdinando Villa, S. Balbi
Abstract. Wildfires are key not only to landscape transformation and vegetation succession, but also to socio-ecological values loss. Fire risk mapping can help to manage the most vulnerable and relevant ecosystems impacted by wildfires. However, few studies provide accessible daily dynamic results at different spatio-temporal scales. We develop a fire risk model for Sicily (Italy), an iconic case of the Mediterranean Basin, integrating a fire hazard model with an exposure and vulnerability analysis under present and future conditions. The integrated model is data-driven but can run dynamically at a daily time step, providing spatially and temporally explicit results through the k.LAB (Knowledge Laboratory) software. This software provides an environment for input data integration, combining methods and data such as geographic information systems, remote sensing and Bayesian network algorithms. All data and models are semantically annotated, open and downloadable in agreement with the FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable). The fire risk analysis reveals that 45 % of vulnerable areas of Sicily have a high probability of fire occurrence in 2050. The risk model outputs also include qualitative risk indexes, which can make the results more understandable for non-technical stakeholders. We argue that this approach is well suited to aiding in landscape and fire risk management, under both current and climate change conditions.
{"title":"Fire risk modeling: an integrated and data-driven approach applied to Sicily","authors":"Alba Marquez Torres, Giovanni Signorello, Sudeshna Kumar, Greta Adamo, Ferdinando Villa, S. Balbi","doi":"10.5194/nhess-23-2937-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2937-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Wildfires are key not only to landscape transformation and vegetation succession, but also to socio-ecological values loss. Fire risk mapping can help to manage the most vulnerable and relevant ecosystems impacted by wildfires. However, few studies provide accessible daily dynamic results at different spatio-temporal scales. We develop a fire risk model for Sicily (Italy), an iconic case of the Mediterranean Basin, integrating a fire hazard model with an exposure and vulnerability analysis under present and future conditions. The integrated model is data-driven but can run dynamically at a daily time step, providing spatially and temporally explicit results through the k.LAB (Knowledge Laboratory) software. This software provides an environment for input data integration, combining methods and data such as geographic information systems, remote sensing and Bayesian network algorithms. All data and models are semantically annotated, open and downloadable in agreement with the FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable). The fire risk analysis reveals that 45 % of vulnerable areas of Sicily have a high probability of fire occurrence in 2050. The risk model outputs also\u0000include qualitative risk indexes, which can make the results more understandable for non-technical stakeholders. We argue that this approach\u0000is well suited to aiding in landscape and fire risk management, under both\u0000current and climate change conditions.\u0000","PeriodicalId":18922,"journal":{"name":"Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42014527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-06DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-2961-2023
Joshua Kiesel, Marvin Lorenz, Marcel König, Ulf Gräwe, A. Vafeidis
Abstract. Among the Baltic Sea littoral states, Germany is anticipated to endure considerable damage as a result of increased coastal flooding due to sea-level rise (SLR). Consequently, there is a growing demand for flood risk assessments, particularly at regional scales, which will improve the understanding of the impacts of SLR and assist adaptation planning. Existing studies on coastal flooding along the German Baltic Sea coast either use state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models but cover only a small fraction of the study region or assess potential flood extents for the entire region but rely on global topographic data sources and apply the simplified bathtub approach. In addition, the validation of produced flood extents is often not provided. Here we apply a fully validated hydrodynamic modelling framework covering the German Baltic Sea coast that includes the height of natural and anthropogenic coastal protection structures in the study region. Using this modelling framework, we extrapolate spatially explicit 200-year return water levels, which align with the design standard of state embankments in the region, and simulate associated coastal flooding. Specifically, we explore (1) how flood extents may change until 2100 if dike heights are not upgraded, by applying two high-end SLR scenarios (1 and 1.5 m); (2) hotspots of coastal flooding; and (3) the use of SAR imagery for validating the simulated flood extents. Our results confirm that the German Baltic coast is exposed to coastal flooding, with flood extent varying between 217 and 1016 km2 for the 200-year event and a 200-year event with 1.5 m SLR, respectively. Most of the flooding occurs in the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while extreme water levels are generally higher in Schleswig-Holstein. Our results emphasise the importance of current plans to update coastal protection schemes along the German Baltic Sea coast over the 21st century in order to prevent large-scale damage in the future.
摘要在波罗的海沿岸国中，由于海平面上升（SLR）导致沿海洪水增加，预计德国将遭受相当大的损失。因此，对洪水风险评估的需求越来越大，特别是在区域范围内，这将提高对SLR影响的理解，并有助于适应规划。关于德国波罗的海沿岸沿海洪水的现有研究要么使用最先进的流体动力学模型，但只覆盖研究区域的一小部分，要么评估整个区域的潜在洪水范围，但依赖全球地形数据源，并应用简化的浴缸法。此外，通常没有提供生产洪水范围的验证。在这里，我们应用了一个经过充分验证的涵盖德国波罗的海海岸的流体动力学建模框架，其中包括研究区域内自然和人为海岸保护结构的高度。使用该建模框架，我们推断了空间上明确的200年一遇水位，该水位与该地区各州堤防的设计标准一致，并模拟了相关的沿海洪水。具体而言，我们通过应用两种高端SLR场景（1和1.5 m） ；（2） 沿海洪水热点；以及（3）使用SAR图像来验证模拟洪水范围。我们的研究结果证实，德国波罗的海沿岸面临沿海洪水，洪水范围在217至1016之间 200年一遇和200年一遇的1.5平方公里 m SLR。大部分洪水发生在联邦梅克伦堡-西波美拉尼亚州，而石勒苏益格-荷尔斯泰因州的极端水位通常更高。我们的研究结果强调了当前计划的重要性，即在21世纪更新德国波罗的海沿岸的海岸保护计划，以防止未来发生大规模破坏。
{"title":"Regional assessment of extreme sea levels and associated coastal flooding along the German Baltic Sea coast","authors":"Joshua Kiesel, Marvin Lorenz, Marcel König, Ulf Gräwe, A. Vafeidis","doi":"10.5194/nhess-23-2961-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2961-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Among the Baltic Sea littoral states, Germany is anticipated to endure considerable damage as a result of increased coastal flooding due to sea-level rise (SLR). Consequently, there is a growing demand for flood risk assessments, particularly at regional scales, which will improve the understanding of the impacts of SLR and assist adaptation planning. Existing studies on coastal flooding along the German Baltic Sea coast either use state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models but cover only a small fraction of the study region or assess potential flood extents for the entire region but rely on global topographic data sources and apply the simplified bathtub approach. In addition, the validation of produced flood extents is often not provided. Here we apply a fully validated hydrodynamic modelling framework covering the German Baltic Sea coast that includes the height of natural and anthropogenic coastal protection structures in the study region. Using this modelling framework, we extrapolate spatially explicit 200-year return water levels, which align with the design standard of state embankments in the region, and simulate associated coastal flooding. Specifically, we explore (1) how flood extents may change until 2100 if dike heights are not upgraded, by applying two high-end SLR scenarios (1 and 1.5 m); (2) hotspots of coastal flooding; and (3) the use of SAR imagery for validating the simulated flood extents. Our results confirm that the German Baltic coast is exposed to coastal flooding, with flood extent varying between 217 and 1016 km2 for the 200-year event and a 200-year event with 1.5 m SLR, respectively. Most of the flooding occurs in the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while extreme water levels are generally higher in Schleswig-Holstein. Our results emphasise the importance of current plans to update coastal protection schemes along the German Baltic Sea coast over the 21st century in order to prevent large-scale damage in the future.\u0000","PeriodicalId":18922,"journal":{"name":"Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44096348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-2915-2023
Marleen R. Lam, A. Matanó, A. V. van Loon, Rhoda A. Odongo, A. Teklesadik, C. Wamucii, Marc J. C. van den Homberg, Shamton Waruru, A. Teuling
Abstract. The relation between drought severity and drought impacts is complex and relatively unexplored in the African continent. This study assesses the relation between reported drought impacts, drought indices, water scarcity and aridity across several counties in Kenya. The monthly bulletins of the National Drought Management Authority in Kenya provided drought impact data. A random forest (RF) model was used to explore which set of drought indices (standardized precipitation index, standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index, standardized soil moisture index and standardized streamflow index) best explains drought impacts on pasture, livestock deaths, milk production, crop losses, food insecurity, trekking distance for water and malnutrition. The findings of this study suggest a relation between drought severity and the frequency of drought impacts, whereby the latter also showed a positive relation with aridity. A relation between water scarcity and aridity was not found. The RF model revealed that every region, aggregated by aridity, had their own set of predictors for every impact category. Longer timescales (≥ 12 months) and the standardized streamflow index were strongly represented in the list of predictors, indicating the importance of hydrological drought to predict drought impact occurrences. This study highlights the potential of linking drought indices with text-based impact reports while acknowledging that the findings strongly depend on the availability of drought impact data. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of considering spatial differences in aridity, water scarcity and socio-economic conditions within a region when exploring the relationships between drought impacts and indices.
{"title":"Linking reported drought impacts with drought indices, water scarcity and aridity: the case of Kenya","authors":"Marleen R. Lam, A. Matanó, A. V. van Loon, Rhoda A. Odongo, A. Teklesadik, C. Wamucii, Marc J. C. van den Homberg, Shamton Waruru, A. Teuling","doi":"10.5194/nhess-23-2915-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2915-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. The relation between drought severity and drought impacts is complex and relatively unexplored in the African continent. This study assesses the relation between reported drought impacts, drought indices, water scarcity and aridity across several counties in Kenya. The monthly bulletins of the National Drought Management Authority in Kenya provided drought impact data. A random forest (RF) model was used to explore which set of drought indices (standardized precipitation index, standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index, standardized soil moisture index and standardized streamflow index) best explains drought impacts on pasture, livestock deaths, milk production, crop losses, food insecurity, trekking distance for water and malnutrition. The findings of this study suggest a relation between drought severity and the frequency of drought impacts, whereby the latter also showed a positive relation with aridity. A relation between water scarcity and aridity was not found. The RF model revealed that every region, aggregated by aridity, had their own set of predictors for every impact category. Longer timescales (≥ 12 months) and the standardized streamflow index were strongly represented in the list of predictors, indicating the importance of hydrological drought to predict drought impact occurrences. This study highlights the potential of linking drought indices with text-based impact reports while acknowledging that the findings strongly depend on the availability of drought impact data. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of considering spatial differences in aridity, water scarcity and socio-economic conditions within a region when exploring the relationships between drought impacts and indices.\u0000","PeriodicalId":18922,"journal":{"name":"Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45701388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-30DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-2873-2023
M. Hundhausen, H. Feldmann, N. Laube, J. Pinto
Abstract. Heat extremes and associated impacts are considered the most pressing issue for German regional governments with respect to climate adaptation. We explore the potential of a unique high-resolution, convection-permitting (2.8 m), multi-GCM (global climate model) ensemble with COSMO-CLM (Consortium for Small-scale Modeling Climate Limited-area Modelling) regional simulations (1971–2100) over Germany regarding heat extremes and related impacts. We find a systematically reduced cold bias especially in summer in the convection-permitting simulations compared to the driving simulations with a grid size of 7 km and parametrized convection. The projected increase in temperature and its variance favors the development of longer and hotter heat waves, especially in late summer and early autumn. In a 2 ∘C (3 ∘C) warmer world, a 26 % (100 %) increase in the heat wave magnitude index is anticipated. Human heat stress (universal thermal climate index (UTCI) > 32 ∘C) and region-specific parameters tailored to climate adaptation revealed a dependency on the major landscapes, resulting in significantly higher heat exposure in flat regions such as the Rhine Valley, accompanied by the strongest absolute increase. A nonlinear, exponential increase is anticipated for parameters characterizing strong heat stress (UTCI > 32 ∘C, tropical nights, very hot days). Providing region-specific and tailored climate information, we demonstrate the potential of convection-permitting simulations to facilitate improved impact studies and narrow the gap between climate modeling and stakeholder requirements for climate adaptation.
{"title":"Future heat extremes and impacts in a convection-permitting climate ensemble over Germany","authors":"M. Hundhausen, H. Feldmann, N. Laube, J. Pinto","doi":"10.5194/nhess-23-2873-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2873-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Heat extremes and associated impacts are considered the most pressing issue for German regional governments with respect to climate adaptation. We explore the potential of a unique high-resolution, convection-permitting (2.8 m), multi-GCM (global climate model) ensemble with COSMO-CLM (Consortium for Small-scale Modeling Climate Limited-area Modelling) regional simulations (1971–2100) over Germany regarding heat extremes and related impacts. We find a systematically reduced cold bias especially in summer in the convection-permitting simulations compared to the driving simulations with a grid size of 7 km and parametrized convection. The projected increase in temperature and its variance favors the development of longer and hotter heat waves, especially in late summer and early autumn. In a 2 ∘C (3 ∘C) warmer world, a 26 % (100 %) increase in the heat wave magnitude index is anticipated. Human heat stress (universal thermal climate index (UTCI) > 32 ∘C) and region-specific parameters tailored to climate adaptation revealed a dependency on the major landscapes, resulting in significantly higher heat exposure in flat regions such as the Rhine Valley, accompanied by the strongest absolute increase. A nonlinear, exponential increase is anticipated for parameters characterizing strong heat stress (UTCI > 32 ∘C, tropical nights, very hot days). Providing region-specific and tailored climate information, we demonstrate the potential of convection-permitting simulations to facilitate improved impact studies and narrow the gap between climate modeling and stakeholder requirements for climate adaptation.\u0000","PeriodicalId":18922,"journal":{"name":"Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41398057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-30DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-2895-2023
Elisabeth D. Hafner, F. Techel, R. C. Daudt, J. D. Wegner, K. Schindler, Y. Bühler
Abstract. Consistent estimates of avalanche size are crucial for communicating not only among avalanche practitioners but also between avalanche forecasters and the public, for instance in public avalanche forecasts. Moreover, applications such as risk management and numerical avalanche simulations rely on accurately mapped outlines of past avalanche events. Since there is not a widely applicable and objective way to measure avalanche size or to determine the outlines of an avalanche, we need to rely on human estimations. Therefore, knowing about the reliability of avalanche size estimates and avalanche outlines is essential as errors will impact applications relying on this kind of data. In the first of three user studies, we investigate the reliability in avalanche size estimates by comparing estimates for 10 avalanches made by 170 avalanche professionals working in Europe or North America. In the other two studies, both completed as pilot studies, we explore reliability in the mappings of six avalanches from oblique photographs from 10 participants and the mappings of avalanches visible on 2.9 km2 of remotely sensed imagery in four different spatial resolutions from 5 participants. We observed an average agreement of 66 % in the most frequently given avalanche size, while agreement with the avalanche size considered “correct” was 74 %. Moreover, European avalanche practitioners rated avalanches significantly larger for 8 out of 10 avalanches, compared to North Americans. Assuming that participants are equally competent in the estimation of avalanche size, we calculated a score describing the factor required to obtain the observed agreement rate between any two size estimates. This factor was 0.72 in our dataset. It can be regarded as the certainty related to a size estimate by an individual and thus provides an indication of the reliability of a label. For the outlines mapped from oblique photographs, we noted a mean overlapping proportion of 52 % for any two avalanche mappings and 60 % compared to a reference mapping. The outlines mapped from remotely sensed imagery had a mean overlapping proportion of 46 % (image resolution of 2 m) to 68 % (25 cm) between any two mappings and 64 % (2 m) to 80 % (25 cm) when compared to the reference. The presented findings demonstrate that the reliability of size estimates and of mapped avalanche outlines is limited. As these data are often used as reference data or even ground truth to validate further applications, the identified limitations and uncertainties may influence results and should be considered.
{"title":"Avalanche size estimation and avalanche outline determination by experts: reliability and implications for practice","authors":"Elisabeth D. Hafner, F. Techel, R. C. Daudt, J. D. Wegner, K. Schindler, Y. Bühler","doi":"10.5194/nhess-23-2895-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2895-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Consistent estimates of avalanche size are crucial for communicating not only among avalanche practitioners but also between avalanche forecasters and the public, for instance in public avalanche forecasts. Moreover, applications such as risk management and numerical avalanche simulations rely on accurately mapped outlines of past avalanche events. Since there is not a widely applicable and objective way to measure avalanche size or to determine the outlines of an avalanche, we need to rely on human estimations. Therefore, knowing about the reliability of avalanche size estimates and avalanche outlines is essential as errors will impact applications relying on this kind of data. In the first of three user studies, we investigate the reliability in avalanche size estimates by comparing estimates for 10 avalanches made by 170 avalanche professionals working in Europe or North America. In the other two studies, both completed as pilot studies, we explore reliability in the mappings of six avalanches from oblique photographs from 10 participants and the mappings of avalanches visible on 2.9 km2 of remotely sensed imagery in four different spatial resolutions from 5 participants.\u0000We observed an average agreement of 66 % in the most frequently given avalanche size, while agreement with the avalanche size considered “correct” was 74 %. Moreover, European avalanche practitioners rated avalanches significantly larger for 8 out of 10 avalanches, compared to North Americans. Assuming that participants are equally competent in the estimation of avalanche size, we calculated a score describing the factor required to obtain the observed agreement rate between any two size estimates. This factor was 0.72 in our dataset. It can be regarded as the certainty related to a size estimate by an individual and thus provides an indication of the reliability of a label. For the outlines mapped from oblique photographs, we noted a mean overlapping proportion of 52 % for any two avalanche mappings and 60 % compared to a reference mapping. The outlines mapped from remotely sensed imagery had a mean overlapping proportion of 46 % (image resolution of 2 m) to 68 % (25 cm) between any two mappings and 64 % (2 m) to 80 % (25 cm) when compared to the reference.\u0000The presented findings demonstrate that the reliability of size estimates and of mapped avalanche outlines is limited. As these data are often used as reference data or even ground truth to validate further applications, the identified limitations and uncertainties may influence results and should be considered.\u0000","PeriodicalId":18922,"journal":{"name":"Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49264600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-25DOI: 10.5194/nhess-23-2857-2023
P. Rivoire, O. Martius, P. Naveau, A. Tuel
Abstract. Heavy precipitation can lead to floods and landslides, resulting in widespread damage and significant casualties. Some of its impacts can be mitigated if reliable forecasts and warnings are available. Of particular interest is the subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) prediction timescale. The S2S prediction timescale has received increasing attention in the research community because of its importance for many sectors. However, very few forecast skill assessments of precipitation extremes in S2S forecast data have been conducted. The goal of this article is to assess the forecast skill of rare events, here extreme precipitation, in S2S forecasts, using a metric specifically designed for extremes. We verify extreme precipitation events over Europe in the S2S forecast model from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The verification is conducted against ERA5 reanalysis precipitation. Extreme precipitation is defined as daily precipitation accumulations exceeding the seasonal 95th percentile. In addition to the classical Brier score, we use a binary loss index to assess skill. The binary loss index is tailored to assess the skill of rare events. We analyze daily events that are locally and spatially aggregated, as well as 7 d extreme-event counts. Results consistently show a higher skill in winter compared to summer. The regions showing the highest skill are Norway, Portugal and the south of the Alps. Skill increases when aggregating the extremes spatially or temporally. The verification methodology can be adapted and applied to other variables, e.g., temperature extremes or river discharge.
{"title":"Assessment of subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) ensemble extreme precipitation forecast skill over Europe","authors":"P. Rivoire, O. Martius, P. Naveau, A. Tuel","doi":"10.5194/nhess-23-2857-2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-2857-2023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Heavy precipitation can lead to floods and landslides, resulting in widespread damage and significant casualties. Some of its impacts can be mitigated if reliable forecasts and warnings are available. Of particular interest is the subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) prediction timescale. The S2S prediction timescale has received increasing attention in the research community because of its importance for many sectors. However, very few forecast skill assessments of precipitation extremes in S2S forecast data have been conducted. The goal of this article is to assess the forecast skill of rare events, here extreme precipitation, in S2S forecasts, using a metric specifically designed for extremes. We verify extreme precipitation events over Europe in the S2S forecast model from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The verification is conducted against ERA5 reanalysis precipitation. Extreme precipitation is defined as daily precipitation accumulations exceeding the seasonal 95th percentile. In addition to the classical Brier score, we use a binary loss index to assess skill. The binary loss index is tailored to assess the skill of rare events. We analyze daily events that are locally and spatially aggregated, as well as 7 d extreme-event counts. Results consistently show a higher skill in winter compared to summer. The regions showing the highest skill are Norway, Portugal and the south of the Alps. Skill increases when aggregating the extremes spatially or temporally. The verification methodology can be adapted and applied to other variables, e.g., temperature extremes or river discharge.","PeriodicalId":18922,"journal":{"name":"Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46230040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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