The tale of three floods: From extreme events and cascades of highs to anthropogenic floods
Right after a devastating multi-year drought, a number of flood events with unprecedented spatial extent hit different parts of Iran over the 2-week period of March 17th to April 1st, 2019, causing a human disaster and substantial loss of assets and infrastructure across urban and rural areas. Here,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Weather and Climate Extremes |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094722000743 |
| _version_ | 1817999187745177600 |
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| author | Aneseh Alborzi Yunxia Zhao Ali Nazemi Ali Mirchi Iman Mallakpour Hamed Moftakhari Samaneh Ashraf Reza Izadi Amir AghaKouchak |
| author_facet | Aneseh Alborzi Yunxia Zhao Ali Nazemi Ali Mirchi Iman Mallakpour Hamed Moftakhari Samaneh Ashraf Reza Izadi Amir AghaKouchak |
| author_sort | Aneseh Alborzi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Right after a devastating multi-year drought, a number of flood events with unprecedented spatial extent hit different parts of Iran over the 2-week period of March 17th to April 1st, 2019, causing a human disaster and substantial loss of assets and infrastructure across urban and rural areas. Here, we investigate natural (e.g., rainfall, snow accumulation/melt, soil moisture) and anthropogenic drivers (e.g., deforestation, urbanization, and management practices) of these events using a range of ground-based data and satellite observations. These drivers can range from exceptionally extreme rainfall intensities, to cascades of several extreme and moderate events, and various anthropogenic interventions that exacerbated flooding. Our results reveal strong compounding impacts of natural drivers and anthropogenic triggers in escalating flood risks to unprecedented levels. We argue that a new form of floods, i.e. anthropogenic floods, is becoming more common and should be recognized during the “Anthropocene”. This specific form of floods refers to high to extreme streamflow/runoff events that are primarily caused, or largely exacerbated, by anthropogenic drivers. We demonstrate how the growing risk of anthropogenic floods can be assessed using a wide range of climatic and non-climatic satellite and in-situ data. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T03:03:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7bdded55ac284bd38b3284563ad815a5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2212-0947 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T03:03:46Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Weather and Climate Extremes |
| spelling | doaj.art-7bdded55ac284bd38b3284563ad815a52022-12-22T02:15:48ZengElsevierWeather and Climate Extremes2212-09472022-12-0138100495The tale of three floods: From extreme events and cascades of highs to anthropogenic floodsAneseh Alborzi0Yunxia Zhao1Ali Nazemi2Ali Mirchi3Iman Mallakpour4Hamed Moftakhari5Samaneh Ashraf6Reza Izadi7Amir AghaKouchak8Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, USADepartment of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montréal, Quebec, CanadaDepartment of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, USADepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, USADepartment of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Quebec in Montreal, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Meteorology, University of Tehran, Tehran, IranDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA; Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, USA; Corresponding author. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA.Right after a devastating multi-year drought, a number of flood events with unprecedented spatial extent hit different parts of Iran over the 2-week period of March 17th to April 1st, 2019, causing a human disaster and substantial loss of assets and infrastructure across urban and rural areas. Here, we investigate natural (e.g., rainfall, snow accumulation/melt, soil moisture) and anthropogenic drivers (e.g., deforestation, urbanization, and management practices) of these events using a range of ground-based data and satellite observations. These drivers can range from exceptionally extreme rainfall intensities, to cascades of several extreme and moderate events, and various anthropogenic interventions that exacerbated flooding. Our results reveal strong compounding impacts of natural drivers and anthropogenic triggers in escalating flood risks to unprecedented levels. We argue that a new form of floods, i.e. anthropogenic floods, is becoming more common and should be recognized during the “Anthropocene”. This specific form of floods refers to high to extreme streamflow/runoff events that are primarily caused, or largely exacerbated, by anthropogenic drivers. We demonstrate how the growing risk of anthropogenic floods can be assessed using a wide range of climatic and non-climatic satellite and in-situ data.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094722000743 |
| spellingShingle | Aneseh Alborzi Yunxia Zhao Ali Nazemi Ali Mirchi Iman Mallakpour Hamed Moftakhari Samaneh Ashraf Reza Izadi Amir AghaKouchak The tale of three floods: From extreme events and cascades of highs to anthropogenic floods Weather and Climate Extremes |
| title | The tale of three floods: From extreme events and cascades of highs to anthropogenic floods |
| title_full | The tale of three floods: From extreme events and cascades of highs to anthropogenic floods |
| title_fullStr | The tale of three floods: From extreme events and cascades of highs to anthropogenic floods |
| title_full_unstemmed | The tale of three floods: From extreme events and cascades of highs to anthropogenic floods |
| title_short | The tale of three floods: From extreme events and cascades of highs to anthropogenic floods |
| title_sort | tale of three floods from extreme events and cascades of highs to anthropogenic floods |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094722000743 |
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