Rhine flood stories: Spatio‐temporal analysis of historic and projected flood genesis in the Rhine River basin

AbstractThe genesis of floods in large river basins often is complex. Streamflow originating from precipitation and snowmelt and different tributaries can superimpose and cause high water levels, threatening cities and communities along the riverbanks. For better understanding the mechanisms (origin and composition) of flood events in large and complex basins, we capture and share the story behind major historic and projected streamflow peaks in the Rhine River basin. Our analysis is based on hydrological simulations with the mesoscale Hydrological Model forced with both meteorological observations and an ensemble of climate projections. The spatio‐temporal analysis of the flood events includes the assessment and mapping of antecedent liquid precipitation, snow cover changes, generated and routed runoff, areal extents of events, and the above‐average runoff from major sub‐basins up to 10 days before a streamflow peak. We introduce and assess the analytical setup by presenting the flood genesis of the two well‐known Rhine floods that occurred in January 1995 and May 1999. We share our extensive collection of event‐based Rhine River flood genesis, which can be used in‐ and outside the scientific community to explore the complexity and diversity of historic and projected flood genesis in the Rhine basin. An interactive web‐based viewer provides easy access to all major historic and projected streamflow peaks at four locations along the Rhine. The comparison of peak flow genesis depending on different warming levels elucidates the role of changes in snow cover and precipitation characteristics in the (pre‐)Alps for flood hazards along the entire channel of the Rhine. Furthermore, our results suggest a positive correlation between flood magnitudes and areal extents of an event. Further hydro‐climatological research is required to improve the understanding of the climatic impact on the Rhine and beyond.The genesis of riverine floods in large river basins often is complex. Streamflow originating from precipitation and snowmelt and different tributaries can superimpose and cause high water levels threatening cities and communities along the riverbanks. In this study, we capture and share the story behind major historic and projected streamflow peaks in the large and complex basin of the Rhine River. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3239055https://github.com/ERottler/rhine-flood-genesishttp://natriskchange.ad.umwelt.uni-potsdam.de:3838/rhine-flood-genesishttps://b2share.eudat.eu/records/72d7a4f5d38043d1a137228b39c7ecc

Hydro Explorer: An interactive web app to investigate changes in runoff timing and runoff seasonality all over the world

Climatic changes and anthropogenic modifications of the river basin or river network have the potential to fundamentally alter river runoff. In the framework of this study, we aim to analyze and present historic changes in runoff timing and runoff seasonality observed at river gauges all over the world. In this regard, we develop the Hydro Explorer, an interactive web app, which enables the investigation of >7,000 daily resolution discharge time series from the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC). The interactive nature of the developed web app allows for a quick comparison of gauges, regions, methods, and time frames. We illustrate the available analytical tools by investigating changes in runoff timing and runoff seasonality in the Rhine River Basin. Since we provide the source code of the application, existing analytical approaches can be modified, new methods added, and the tool framework can be re‐used to visualize other data sets.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659WOA Institution: UNIVERSITAET POTSDAM Blended DEAL: ProjektDEA