Arantec at the European Geosciences Union – EGU 2017

Arantec en el European Geosciences Union – EGU 2017

The University of Lleida (Josep Carles Balach, Josep Lluis Ruiz-Bellet, David Garcia-Rodríguez, Rafael Rodríguez-Ochoa, and Xavier Castelltort), the University of Barcelona (Glòria Furdada and Mariano Barriendos), the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (David Pino), the Ministry of Science, Fluvial Dynamics Research Group (Jordi Tuset), and Arantec (Eisharc Jaquet) participated in the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2017 from April 23 to 27 in Vienna. They presented a poster on the case of the floods that occurred in Agramunt in 2015 and 2016.

During this EGU conference, which brings together scientists and entrepreneurs from around the world, various topics related to climate change, the environment, hydrology, and natural hazards are discussed.

Arantec‘s presentation focuses on the importance of calibrating hydrological models for the Sió River basin, a tributary of the Segre River in the Ebro River Basin, using river level and rainfall sensors (Smarty River).

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The Sió River basin, divided into 12 sub-basins, was modeled using the HEC-RAS v4.2 software with soil moisture conditions based on Curve Number Type 2 and rainfall data recorded by the Gaver rain sensor from Arantec. Subsequently, the river levels were calibrated using the “Smarty” level sensors installed in Castellnou d’Ossó and Tarroja de Segarra.

The modeled results compared to the actual measurements in Tarroja de Segarra showed agreement in peak flows, but there was a deviation in terms of peak timing (1 hour and 40 minutes earlier than measured) and volume (84% less than the measured value), as shown in the following image.

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Hydrographs of measured values (black line) and modeled values (blue line) in Tarroja de Segarra.

Regarding the results in Castellnou d’Ossó, the model overestimated the peak flows and the volume of the flood, suggesting that the model did not consider the infiltration of the soil, as indicated in the following graph.

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Hydrographs of measured values (black line) and modeled values (blue line) in Castellnou d’Ossó

If we assume an infiltration rate of approximately 0.18 mm/s in this case, the peak flows in Castellnou d’Ossó will be similar between the measured and modeled values, with only a discrepancy in the timing of the peak and the volume, as observed in the following graph.

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Hydrographs of measured values (black line) and modeled values (blue line) in Castellnou d’Ossó with infiltration

Therefore, we can only discuss the cause of differences in peak flow times and flood volumes, which may be due to the high sediment content in the river, the use of a different theoretical rainfall pattern than the actual one, and the presence of a large floodplain in the area.

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In conclusion, it is important to highlight the significance of installing rainfall, water level, and flow measurement equipment to calibrate various models. Additionally, Arantec’s presence at the Vienna conference serves as a reference for Early Warning Systems in flood management.

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