Is there a consistency in basin morphometry and hydrodynamic modelling results in terms of the flood generation potential of basins? A case study from the Ulus River Basin (Turkiye)

Floods are natural phenomena that increase their impact every year due to increasing natural and anthropogenic variables, which are effective individually or together. Many research studies have focused on understanding the causative factors. This study aims to reveal whether there is a consistency in the results of the basin morphometry and hydrodynamic model used to understand the flood generation potential of river basins. Both analyses have been discussed individually in many papers but are not comprehensively compared. The Ulus settlement (Turkiye), where Ulus upstream, Suleyman, Alpi, and Eldes tributaries converge, was chosen as a study area. The results of the two analyses were evaluated in terms of their potential ability to produce floods over the subbasins and the Ulus settlement. Eight basin morphometric parameters were applied to the 10 m resolution TopoDEM data, and the results were evaluated according to the Normalised Morphometric Flood Index (NMFI) method, which helps decrease subjectivity in ranking the results. Flow data of the ungauged subbasins were produced using the SWAT rainfall-runoff model, and 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 years maximum flow data were generated using flood frequency analysis, and the different flow data were modelled based on 1 m LiDAR DEM using the LISFLOOD-FP 2D-hydrodynamic model. According to the results, the Suleyman subbasin has the highest flood generation potential in basin morphometry and hydrodynamic modelling. It is followed by the Alpi subbasin at high potential, Ulus upstream and Eldes subbasins at medium potential. As a result, we determine there is a consistency in basin morphometry and hydrodynamic modelling results. The basin morphometry and the developed NMFI can be used to determine and understand the flood-generating potential of basins or subbasins in data-scarce regions regarding flood modelling.

Automated summary

This study aims to reveal the flood generation potential of river basins and analyze the results of basin morphometry and hydrodynamic modeling. The results show that the Suleyman subbasin has the highest flood generation potential, followed by the Alpi subbasin, and then the Ulus upstream and Eldes subbasins.