Long-term strategies for flood risk management: scenario definition and strategic alternative design

This report reviews some mainstream existing methods of scenario development and use, as well as experiences with the design and assessment of strategic alternatives for flood risk management. Next, a procedure and methods are proposed and discussed. Thirdly, the procedure and methods are tried on the Schelde Estuary and the Thames Estuary and, finally, conclusions are draw

Turbulent friction in flows over permeable walls

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

FRMRC presentations to practitioners workshop

Practitioners workshop introduction - Infrastructure management Channels and their management Estimating blockage potential at culvert trash screens Fragility curves Predicting breach Simplified tools for risk assessment 2nd generation asset inspection techniques Use of non-invasive measuring techniques in asset inspection Asset deterioration - Assessment and measurement Attributing risk to assets - Examples from pilot projects Practitioner workshop on asset managment Multi-objective optimisation of flood risk mitigation measures, including real options Next steps to implementation and future research need

A cross-sectional study of the prevalence and associations of iron deficiency in a cohort of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

OBJECTIVES: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Iron deficiency, with or without anaemia, is associated with other chronic conditions, such as congestive heart failure, where it predicts a worse outcome. However, the prevalence of iron deficiency in COPD is unknown. This observational study aimed to determine the prevalence of iron deficiency in COPD and associations with differences in clinical phenotype. SETTING: University hospital outpatient clinic. PARTICIPANTS: 113 adult patients (65% male) with COPD diagnosed according to GOLD criteria (forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)): forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio <0·70 and FEV(1) <80% predicted); with age-matched and sex-matched control group consisting of 57 healthy individuals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of iron deficiency, defined as: any one or more of (1) soluble transferrin receptor >28.1 nmol/L; (2) transferrin saturation <16% and (3) ferritin <12 µg/L. Severity of hypoxaemia, including resting peripheral arterial oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) and nocturnal oximetry; C reactive protein (CRP); FEV(1); self-reported exacerbation rate and Shuttle Walk Test performance. RESULTS: Iron deficiency was more common in patients with COPD (18%) compared with controls (5%). In the COPD cohort, CRP was higher in patients with iron deficiency (median 10.5 vs 4.0 mg/L, p<0.001), who were also more hypoxaemic than their iron-replete counterparts (median resting SpO(2) 92% vs 95%, p<0.001), but haemoglobin concentration did not differ. Patients with iron deficiency had more self-reported exacerbations and a trend towards worse exercise tolerance. CONCLUSIONS: Non-anaemic iron deficiency is common in COPD and appears to be driven by inflammation. Iron deficiency associates with hypoxaemia, an excess of exacerbations and, possibly, worse exercise tolerance, all markers of poor prognosis. Given that it has been shown to be beneficial in other chronic diseases, intravenous iron therapy should be explored as a novel therapeutic option in COPD

Methodology for a DSS to support long-term Flood Risk Management Planning

This report is Deliverable 18-2 which describes the conceptual, methodological and technological frameworks and how these are implemented for three pilot sites - the Thames, Schelde and Elbe - through prototype decision or \u91discussion\u92 support tools. The report describes the generic interactions between all relevant factors that drive and influence flood risk management in the long term and how these may be enacted within the three prototype DSS tools.Floodsit

UK DSS Review

Research output 5 includes the review of existing DSS tool in the UK.Floodsit

A practical approach to uncertainty in conveyance estimation

Water level prediction is essential for the management of flood management risks through strategic planning, risk mapping, scheme design, forecasting and warning, and channel operation and maintenance. Flood level predictions based on existing software provide no indication of the associated uncertainty. This uncertainty arises from many factors including approximations to the fluid mechanics, natural variability in river resistance and the use of judgement or experience in applying models. These all produce differences between assessment of river channel capacity and its “true” value. In 2001, the Environment Agency commissioned the development of a new conveyance estimation system to reduce the uncertainty associated with flood level predictions. A key component of this work was to quantify the uncertainty in water level for a given flow rate, and present it in a manner which can be readily interpreted by the user and enable better, more informed decisions. This paper provides insight int o the selected approach, essentially driven by the identified end-users and their needs, together with a sensitivity analysis of the parameters contributing to the uncertainty

Advice, methods and tools for estimating channel roughness

Roughness plays an essential role in water level estimation for rivers, watercourses and drains. It reduces the discharge capacity through energy expenditure from boundary-generated turbulence as well as physical blockages caused by vegetation. Today's practitioners are constantly challenged with identifying, quantifying and simulating these processes to provide vital information for a range of flood risk management tasks. This paper introduces the roughness advisor, one of a series of tools embedded in the recently developed Environment Agency's conveyance and afflux estimation system. The roughness advisor provides an extensive database of roughness information from a diverse set of sources (>700) and presents it in a structured manner to enable users readily to select from a range of in-channel and floodplain vegetation and bed material types. Traditionally, flow resistance datasets are based on average values of Manning's n for whole river sections. Here, the notion of a local unit roughness n(l) is introduced and its performance is demonstrated through flow prediction for a range of channel types. Further applications are used to compare the unit roughness with the traditional Manning n, to trial a boulder roughness approach and to describe the sensitivity and relative importance of roughness in the calculation of channel flow