Aarhus Universitets segl

GEOSCIENCE SEMINAR - Dr Thomas Kjeldsen, University of Bath

Assessing the element of surprise of record-breaking flood events

Oplysninger om arrangementet

Tidspunkt

Onsdag 22. februar 2017,  kl. 12:15 - 13:15

Sted

Geoscience auditorium, 1671-137

Arrangør

Institut for Geoscience

ABSTRACT

Dr Thomas Kjeldsen, University of Bath

The occurrence of record-breaking flood events continuous to cause damage and disruption despite significant investments in flood defences, suggesting that these events are in some sense surprising. This study develops a new statistical test to help assess if a flood event can be considered surprising or not. The test statistic is derived from annual maximum series (AMS) of extreme events, and Monte Carlo simulations were used to derive critical values for a range of significance levels based on a Generalized Logistic distribution. The method is tested on a national dataset of past events from the United Kingdom, and is found to correctly identify recent large event that have been identified elsewhere as causing a significant change in UK flood management policy. No temporal trend in the frequency or magnitude of surprising events was identified, and no link could be established between the occurrences of surprising events and large-scale drivers.


All are welcome, coffee & cake served. All are welcome, coffee & cake served.