Rating curves and the uncertainties associated with the flows estimated from these curves at hydrometric stations in Quebec
Speaker(s)
Description
This webinar describes an approach developed to generate rating curves and estimate the uncertainties associated with these flows, while accounting for potential modifications to the rate curve over time and possible changes in the type of control.
Summary
Rating curves establish a link between the stage (level) and the discharge (flow) of a watercourse at a given section. They are based on measurements from gauges, which are taken during measurement campaigns, when levels and flows are measured at the same time. These rating curves are then used to estimate flows based on the water levels measured at hydrometric stations. No information is currently available regarding the uncertainties associated with the estimated flows at hydrometric stations in Quebec. This paper describes an approach developed to generate rating curves and estimate the uncertainties associated with these flows, while accounting for potential modifications to the rate curve over time and possible changes in the type of control. The uncertainties associated with these flows when extrapolating the rating curves, i.e. when the measured levels are above or below the range of measured levels, were examined more carefully. The main results and observations following the application of this approach to all hydrometric stations in Quebec are presented.
Speaker
Alain Mailhot has been a professor with the INRS Eau Terre Environnement Research Centre since 2002. He has a doctorate in statistical physics from the University of Sherbrooke. His main areas of research are urban hydrology, the statistical analysis of hydroclimatic series, and uncertainty analyses in environmental modelling. In recent years, he has focused more specifically on the impacts of climate change on stormwater management in urban areas, the study of changes in precipitation extremes in a future climate and the development of approaches to better characterize this type of event in a historical climate, and the consideration of climate change in design. In particular, he contributed the guide on intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves produced by the Canadian Standards Association.
