New Uncertainty Concepts in Hydrology and Water Resources (International Hydrology Series)

Cambridge University Press, 5/31/2007
EAN 9780521036733, ISBN10: 0521036739

Paperback, 340 pages, 29.5 x 21.1 x 2 cm
Language: English

One of the greatest problems hydrology research faces is how to quantify uncertainty, which is inherent in every hydrological process. This overview of uncertainty emphasizes non-orthodox concepts, such as random fields, fractals and fuzziness. This book reviews alternative and conventional methods of risk and uncertainty representation in hydrology and water resources. The water-related applications discussed in the book pertain to areas of strong interest, such as multifractals and climate change impacts. The authors represent a variety of research backgrounds, achieving a broad subject coverage. The material covered provides an important insight into theories of uncertainty related to the field of hydrology. The book is international in its scope, and will be welcomed by researchers and graduate students of hydrology and water resources.

List of authors
Preface
Part I. Introduction
1. Hydrological uncertainty in perspective
Part II. Facets of Uncertainty
2. Bayesian relative information measure - a tool for analysing the outputs of general circulation models
3. A stochastic weather generator using atmospheric circulation patterns and its use to evaluate climate change effects
4. Hydrological uncertainty - floods of Lake Eyre
5. Some aspects of hydrological design under non-stationarity
6. New plotting position rule for flood records considering historical data and palaeologic information
Part III. Novel Approaches to Uncertainty
Fractals, Fuzzy Sets and Pattern Recognition, Non-Parametric Methods
7. Dispersion in stratified soils with fractal permeability distribution
8. Multifractals and rain
9. Is rain fractal?
10. Multifractal structure of rainfall occurrence in West Africa
11. Analysis of high-resolution rainfall data
12. Application of fuzzy theory to snowmelt runoff
13. On the value of fuzzy concepts in hydrology and water resources management
14. Application of neural network in groundwater remediation under conditions of uncertainty
15. Application of pattern recognition to rainfall-runoff analysis
16. Nonparametric estimation of multivariate density and nonparametric regression
17. Nonparametric approach to design flood estimation with pre-gauging data and information
Part IV. Random Fields
18. Analysis of regional drought characteristics with empirical orthogonal functions
19. Worth of radar data in real-time prediction of mean areal rainfall by nonadvective physically-based models
20. Uncertainty analysis in radar-rainfall estimation
21. Design of groundwater monitoring networks for landfills
22. Spatial variability of evaporation from the land surface - random initial conditions
23. Detecting outliers in flood data with geostatistical methods
Part V. Time Series and Stochastic Processes
24. Prediction uncertainty in seasonal partial duration series
25. A daily streamflow model based on a jump-diffusion process
26. The influence of time discretization on inferred stochastic properties of point rainfall
27. The distribution of the 1-day total precipitation amount
28. Analysis of outliers in Norwegian flood data
29. Stochastic modelling of the operation of hydrants in an irrigation network
30. Order and disorder in hydroclimatological processes
31. Towards the physical structure of river flow stochastic process
Part VI. Risk, Reliability and Related Criteria
32. Stochastic approach to non-point pollution of surface waters
33. Statistically safe sets methodology for optimal management of reservoirs in risk situations
34. Risk assessment in control of reservoir systems
35. Reliability-related criteria in water supply system studies
36. Reliability analysis of reservoir operation
37. Composite risk model of Ogee type spillway.