Compound flood events: analysing the joint occurrence of extreme river discharge events and storm surges in northern and central Europe

<p>The simultaneous occurrence of extreme events gained more and more attention from scientific research in the last couple of years. Compared to the occurrence of single extreme events, co-occurring or compound extremes may substantially increase risks. To adequately address such risks, impro...

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Main Authors: P. Heinrich, S. Hagemann, R. Weisse, C. Schrum, U. Daewel, L. Gaslikova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2023-05-01
Series:Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
Online Access:https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/23/1967/2023/nhess-23-1967-2023.pdf
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author P. Heinrich
S. Hagemann
R. Weisse
C. Schrum
C. Schrum
U. Daewel
L. Gaslikova
author_facet P. Heinrich
S. Hagemann
R. Weisse
C. Schrum
C. Schrum
U. Daewel
L. Gaslikova
author_sort P. Heinrich
collection DOAJ
description <p>The simultaneous occurrence of extreme events gained more and more attention from scientific research in the last couple of years. Compared to the occurrence of single extreme events, co-occurring or compound extremes may substantially increase risks. To adequately address such risks, improving our understanding of compound flood events in Europe is necessary and requires reliable estimates of their probability of occurrence together with potential future changes. In this study compound flood events in northern and central Europe were studied using a Monte Carlo-based approach that avoids the use of copulas. Second, we investigate if the number of observed compound extreme events is within the expected range of 2 standard deviations of randomly occurring compound events. This includes variations of several parameters to test the stability of the identified patterns. Finally, we analyse if the observed compound extreme events had a common large-scale meteorological driver. The results of our investigation show that rivers along the west-facing coasts of Europe experienced a higher amount of compound flood events than expected by pure chance. In these regions, the vast majority of the observed compound flood events seem to be related to the cyclonic westerly general weather pattern (<i>Großwetterlage</i>).</p>
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spelling doaj.art-dd50e5c24dee4724b9cda5999180a5c12023-05-31T10:21:11ZengCopernicus PublicationsNatural Hazards and Earth System Sciences1561-86331684-99812023-05-01231967198510.5194/nhess-23-1967-2023Compound flood events: analysing the joint occurrence of extreme river discharge events and storm surges in northern and central EuropeP. Heinrich0S. Hagemann1R. Weisse2C. Schrum3C. Schrum4U. Daewel5L. Gaslikova6Regional Land and Atmosphere Modeling, Institute of Coastal Systems – Analysis and Modeling, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Max-Planck-Straße 1, 21502 Geesthacht, GermanyRegional Land and Atmosphere Modeling, Institute of Coastal Systems – Analysis and Modeling, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Max-Planck-Straße 1, 21502 Geesthacht, GermanyCoastal Climate and Regional Sea Level Changes, Institute of Coastal Systems – Analysis and Modeling, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Max-Planck-Straße 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany​​​​​​​Institute of Coastal Systems – Analysis and Modeling, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Max-Planck-Straße 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany​​​​​​​Institute of Oceanography, University of Hamburg, Bundesstraße 53, 20146 Hamburg, GermanyMatter Transport and Ecosystem Dynamics, Institute of Coastal Systems – Analysis and Modeling, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Max-Planck-Straße 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany​​​​​​​Coastal Climate and Regional Sea Level Changes, Institute of Coastal Systems – Analysis and Modeling, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Max-Planck-Straße 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany​​​​​​​<p>The simultaneous occurrence of extreme events gained more and more attention from scientific research in the last couple of years. Compared to the occurrence of single extreme events, co-occurring or compound extremes may substantially increase risks. To adequately address such risks, improving our understanding of compound flood events in Europe is necessary and requires reliable estimates of their probability of occurrence together with potential future changes. In this study compound flood events in northern and central Europe were studied using a Monte Carlo-based approach that avoids the use of copulas. Second, we investigate if the number of observed compound extreme events is within the expected range of 2 standard deviations of randomly occurring compound events. This includes variations of several parameters to test the stability of the identified patterns. Finally, we analyse if the observed compound extreme events had a common large-scale meteorological driver. The results of our investigation show that rivers along the west-facing coasts of Europe experienced a higher amount of compound flood events than expected by pure chance. In these regions, the vast majority of the observed compound flood events seem to be related to the cyclonic westerly general weather pattern (<i>Großwetterlage</i>).</p>https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/23/1967/2023/nhess-23-1967-2023.pdf
spellingShingle P. Heinrich
S. Hagemann
R. Weisse
C. Schrum
C. Schrum
U. Daewel
L. Gaslikova
Compound flood events: analysing the joint occurrence of extreme river discharge events and storm surges in northern and central Europe
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
title Compound flood events: analysing the joint occurrence of extreme river discharge events and storm surges in northern and central Europe
title_full Compound flood events: analysing the joint occurrence of extreme river discharge events and storm surges in northern and central Europe
title_fullStr Compound flood events: analysing the joint occurrence of extreme river discharge events and storm surges in northern and central Europe
title_full_unstemmed Compound flood events: analysing the joint occurrence of extreme river discharge events and storm surges in northern and central Europe
title_short Compound flood events: analysing the joint occurrence of extreme river discharge events and storm surges in northern and central Europe
title_sort compound flood events analysing the joint occurrence of extreme river discharge events and storm surges in northern and central europe
url https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/23/1967/2023/nhess-23-1967-2023.pdf
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