Articles | Volume 16, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-1011-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-16-1011-2016
Research article
 | 
25 Apr 2016
Research article |  | 25 Apr 2016

Evaluating flood potential with GRACE in the United States

Tatiana Molodtsova, Sergey Molodtsov, Andrei Kirilenko, Xiaodong Zhang, and Jeffrey VanLooy

Abstract. Reager and Famiglietti (2009) proposed an index, Reager's Flood Potential Index (RFPI), for early large-scale flood risk monitoring using the Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly (TWSA) product derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE). We evaluated the efficacy of the RFPI for flood risk assessment over the continental USA using multi-year flood observation data from 2003 to 2012 by the US Geological Survey and Dartmouth Flood Observatory. In general, we found a good agreement between the RFPI flood risks and the observed floods on regional and even local scales. RFPI demonstrated skill in predicting the large-area, long-duration floods, especially during the summer season.

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Short summary
One of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) products, the Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly (TWSA), was used for assessing large-scale flood risk. The efficacy of the methodology was evaluated over the continental USA. The method exhibits higher skill in predicting the large-area, long-duration floods, especially during the summer season.
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