High-magnitude flooding across Britain since AD 1750
The last decade has witnessed severe flooding across much of the globe, but have these floods really been exceptional? Globally, relatively few instrumental river flow series extend beyond 50 years, with short records presenting significant challenges in determining flood risk from high-magnitude fl...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2c6d716b42dc4f709d068babad44b66e 2023-05-15T17:33:00+02:00 High-magnitude flooding across Britain since AD 1750 N. Macdonald H. Sangster 2017-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1631-2017 https://doaj.org/article/2c6d716b42dc4f709d068babad44b66e EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/21/1631/2017/hess-21-1631-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1027-5606 https://doaj.org/toc/1607-7938 1027-5606 1607-7938 doi:10.5194/hess-21-1631-2017 https://doaj.org/article/2c6d716b42dc4f709d068babad44b66e Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Vol 21, Iss 3, Pp 1631-1650 (2017) Technology T Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1631-2017 2022-12-31T05:48:17Z The last decade has witnessed severe flooding across much of the globe, but have these floods really been exceptional? Globally, relatively few instrumental river flow series extend beyond 50 years, with short records presenting significant challenges in determining flood risk from high-magnitude floods. A perceived increase in extreme floods in recent years has decreased public confidence in conventional flood risk estimates; the results affect society (insurance costs), individuals (personal vulnerability) and companies (e.g. water resource managers). Here, we show how historical records from Britain have improved understanding of high-magnitude floods, by examining past spatial and temporal variability. The findings identify that whilst recent floods are notable, several comparable periods of increased flooding are identifiable historically, with periods of greater frequency (flood-rich periods). Statistically significant relationships between the British flood index, the Atlantic Meridional Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index are identified. The use of historical records identifies that the largest floods often transcend single catchments affecting regions and that the current flood-rich period is not unprecedented. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 21 3 1631 1650 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Technology T Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
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Technology T Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 N. Macdonald H. Sangster High-magnitude flooding across Britain since AD 1750 |
topic_facet |
Technology T Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
The last decade has witnessed severe flooding across much of the globe, but have these floods really been exceptional? Globally, relatively few instrumental river flow series extend beyond 50 years, with short records presenting significant challenges in determining flood risk from high-magnitude floods. A perceived increase in extreme floods in recent years has decreased public confidence in conventional flood risk estimates; the results affect society (insurance costs), individuals (personal vulnerability) and companies (e.g. water resource managers). Here, we show how historical records from Britain have improved understanding of high-magnitude floods, by examining past spatial and temporal variability. The findings identify that whilst recent floods are notable, several comparable periods of increased flooding are identifiable historically, with periods of greater frequency (flood-rich periods). Statistically significant relationships between the British flood index, the Atlantic Meridional Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index are identified. The use of historical records identifies that the largest floods often transcend single catchments affecting regions and that the current flood-rich period is not unprecedented. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
N. Macdonald H. Sangster |
author_facet |
N. Macdonald H. Sangster |
author_sort |
N. Macdonald |
title |
High-magnitude flooding across Britain since AD 1750 |
title_short |
High-magnitude flooding across Britain since AD 1750 |
title_full |
High-magnitude flooding across Britain since AD 1750 |
title_fullStr |
High-magnitude flooding across Britain since AD 1750 |
title_full_unstemmed |
High-magnitude flooding across Britain since AD 1750 |
title_sort |
high-magnitude flooding across britain since ad 1750 |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1631-2017 https://doaj.org/article/2c6d716b42dc4f709d068babad44b66e |
genre |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Vol 21, Iss 3, Pp 1631-1650 (2017) |
op_relation |
http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/21/1631/2017/hess-21-1631-2017.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1027-5606 https://doaj.org/toc/1607-7938 1027-5606 1607-7938 doi:10.5194/hess-21-1631-2017 https://doaj.org/article/2c6d716b42dc4f709d068babad44b66e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1631-2017 |
container_title |
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
container_volume |
21 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1631 |
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1650 |
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1766131350975283200 |