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U. of Salford

Probable maximum flooding using quantitative weather radar

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Reservoir spillways are designed to pass extreme flood events without significant damage. For Category A dams in the UK (whereby a breach will endanger lives in a community), designs are based on the Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) arising from the critical duration Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP). This may occur in the winter, coupled with snowmelt, or in the summer when more heat for convection is available. This thesis details an analysis of 20 extreme rainfall events which occurred in the UK in the past 15 years and were observed by radar. Storm efficiencies have been determined in a Lagrangian frame of reference for these events and used as input into a storm model to determine the corresponding PMP. Results show that while the peak rainfall rates are somewhat less with the storm model than suggested by the NERC FSR (current UK guidelines), the overall volume of rainfall is slightly greater resulting in differences in the maximum storage requirement of the reservoir.

Degree

thesis:*
Level dc:type.qualificationlevel
Doctoral (Level 8)
Year dc:date.issued
1995

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Austin, BN

Rights

Language dc:language
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Identifier
oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1389573
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:salford-repository.worktribe.com:1389573

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
U. of Salford
Base URL
salford-repository.worktribe.com/oaiprovider
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Austin, BN. Probable maximum flooding using quantitative weather radar. Doctoral (Level 8) thesis, 1995.