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Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics & Engineering)  2015, Vol. 16 Issue (3): 194-203    DOI: 10.1631/jzus.A1400123
Civil Engineering     
Qualitative and quantitative uncertainties in regional rainfall frequency analysis
Qian Zhu, Xiao Xu, Chao Gao, Qi-hua Ran, Yue-ping Xu
Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
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Abstract  Uncertainty exists widely in hydrological analysis, and this makes the process of uncertainty assessment very important for making robust decisions. In this study, uncertainty sources in regional rainfall frequency analysis are identified for the first time. The numeral unite spread assessment pedigree (NUSAP) method is introduced and is first employed to quantify qualitative uncertainty in regional rainfall frequency analysis. A pedigree matrix is particularly designed for regional rainfall frequency analysis, by which the qualitative uncertainty can be quantified. Finally, the qualitative and quantitative uncertainties are combined in an uncertainty diagnostic diagram, which makes the uncertainty evaluation results more intuitive. From the integrated diagnostic diagram, it can be determined that the uncertainty caused by the precipitation data is the smallest, and the uncertainty from different grouping methods is the largest. For the downstream sub-region, a generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution is better than a generalized logistic (GLO) distribution; for the south sub-region, a Pearson type III (PE3) distribution is the better choice; and for the north sub-region, GEV is more appropriate.

Key wordsQualitative uncertainty      Uncertainty analysis      Numeral unite spread assessment pedigree (NUSAP) method      Regional rainfall frequency analysis      Pedigree matrix      Diagnostic diagram     
Received: 05 May 2014      Published: 04 March 2015
CLC:  TV125  
Cite this article:

Qian Zhu, Xiao Xu, Chao Gao, Qi-hua Ran, Yue-ping Xu. Qualitative and quantitative uncertainties in regional rainfall frequency analysis. Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE A (Applied Physics & Engineering), 2015, 16(3): 194-203.

URL:

http://www.zjujournals.com/xueshu/zjus-a/10.1631/jzus.A1400123     OR     http://www.zjujournals.com/xueshu/zjus-a/Y2015/V16/I3/194

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