Modeling Flood Hazards

Venkatesh Merwade (Purdue University-Main Campus)
James McNamara (Boise State University)

Editor: Beth Pratt-Sitaula (EarthScope Consortium )

This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process. Final review and editing is pending. (view details)

This material was developed and reviewed through the GETSI curricular materials development process. This rigorous, structured process includes:

team-based development to ensure materials are appropriate across multiple educational settings.
multiple iterative reviews and feedback cycles through the course of material development with input to the authoring team from both project editors and an external assessment team.
real in-class or field camp/course testing of materials in multiple courses with external review of student assessment data.
multiple reviews to ensure the materials meet the GETSI materials rubric which codifies best practices in curricular development, student assessment and pedagogic techniques.
created or reviewed by content experts for accuracy of the science content.

Final review, editing, and approval by GETSI for this material is still pending.

Initial Publication Date: December 5, 2019

Summary

Flooding is an essential component of natural riverine ecosystems, yet is one of the most damaging and frequent natural hazards throughout the world. In this module, five units are provided that introduce students to (1) the physical concepts of flooding and its impact on the natural environment and humans, (2) methods to estimate flood frequency, (3) using LiDAR to compute hydraulic properties of streams, (4) hydraulic modeling tools to map flood-prone areas for different return periods. A fifth unit guides students toward translating these probabilities and flow rates to flood risk in a culminating assignment. This module is intended for upper level geosciences and engineering students.

Show more about Online Teaching suggestions

Webinar about teaching this module: Teaching undergrads about floods: frequency, modeling, and mitigation

Strengths of the Module

This module merges conceptual ideas about flooding processes with quantitative tools to map and model flood flows. Students learn to use the US Army Corp of Engineer's HEC-RAS flood modeling program (Hydrologic Engineering Center's River Analysis System), an industry standard method for estimating flood hazards.
A culminating activity guides students through the process of translating scientific and engineering results to assessments of societal risk. This gives students a strong personal understanding of the consequences of floods and ties science learning with societal motivation.
By working through the units, students are exposed to each of the GETSI Guiding Principles. The module directly addresses geodesy-related grand challenges facing society by evaluating flood risk, which is among the most globally significant resource management issues we face. LiDAR and other geodetic datasets are used to promote geoscientific methods of inquiry through landscape analysis activities. The systems-based integration of spatial datasets with temporal frequency analysis reinforces geoscientific habits of mind. Translating the scientific and engineering outcomes to societal risk requires critical interdisciplinary thinking. Students develop and employ quantitative skills to to define flood return periods, model flow properties for prescribed storms, and create inundation maps.