UNIVERSITY of CALGARY Flash Flood Modelling in Oman Wadis by Ghazi Ali Abdullah Al-Rawas a THESIS SUBMITTED to the FACULTY of GR
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UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Flash Flood Modelling in Oman Wadis by Ghazi Ali Abdullah Al-Rawas A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING CALGARY, ALBERTA DECEMBER, 2009 © Ghazi Ali Abdullah Al-Rawas 2009 Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-62136-3 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-62136-3 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author’s permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n’y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Abstract Oman is one of several countries located in an arid zone that is subject to flash flooding. Records show that major flash floods occurred in Oman in 1989, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2007. Few flash flood studies in the literature have focused on the issue of flash flooding in an arid environment. Consequently, flash flooding in arid regions affecting Wadis like Oman, which is the focus of this research, is poorly understood. A review of the research gaps demonstrates that rainstorm and watershed characteristics are the most influencing factors on urban flash flood studies for an arid environment like Oman. The main objective of this research is to improve flash flood prediction by providing new knowledge and better understanding of the hydrological processes governing flash floods in arid regions like Oman. This includes developing rainstorm time distribution curves that are unique for this type of study region; and analyze, investigate, and develop a relationship between arid watershed characteristics (including urbanization) and wadi flow flood frequency in Oman. Data from 2042 rainstorm events in the Rustaq watershed were used to develop heavy rainfall temporal distribution curves characteristic of arid climates. Orographic effects on rainfall were also investigated by separating the data into two regions, mountainous and coastal, and hyetographs were developed for both regions. The curves for both regions are similar and display a very high intensity at the beginning of the storm, which is known to be a characteristic of storms in arid regions. The new distributions were compared to other standard established distributions derived for regions in Canada and ii the United States. In addition, curves were developed for an area of a similar climate in southern Alberta. The greatest similarity was found between the Oman and Calgary curves but there was significantly higher intensity earlier in the storm in the Oman curves. Relationships between 12 watershed characteristics and mean wadi flood-peaks in northern Oman are investigated. Drainage area (DA), wadi slope (WS), watershed mean elevation (BE), and agricultural/farm area (FR) were found to be the key variables affecting flood flows, with DA having the strongest relationship. Bigger watersheds with high wadi slope, low altitudes, and less farms tend to have higher mean peak flow discharge (QMPF). Unlike past literature, this research shows that DA is positively related to flood peak discharge rates. A new approach is introduced by including FR impacts on runoff in Oman. The approach showed that FR improved the variance explanation by 11% over models using only traditional variables such as DA and BE. Rapid urban expansion in the Wadi Aday watershed in Oman and its impact on wadi peak flow generation and flood frequency is investigated. New hydrologic curve number (CN) and runoff coefficient (C) tables were created specifically for this type of region and for its unique residential characteristics and arid soils. The effect of urbanization on wadi peak flow between 1960 and 2003 shows that the urbanized area increased by 92%; the average simulated wadi peak flows increased by 68%, time to peak decreased by 22.2 min; the weighted C increased from 0.302 to 0.417, and the weighted CN increased from 76 to 79. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost I want to thank my God Almighty for allowing me to complete this work successfully. This work has been funded by Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Caterina Valeo, for her encouragement, help, support, and guidance throughout this thesis. I wish to express my warm and sincere thanks to the members of my supervision committee, Prof. Naser El-Sheimy, Dr. Quazi Hassan, Dr. Stefania Bertazzon, and Dr. Reza Ardakanian. During this research I have collaborated with many colleagues for whom I have great regard, and I wish to extend my warmest thanks to the Ministry of Regional Municipalities & Water Resources (MRMWR) in Oman, particularly Eng. Aisha Al- Khatri, and Eng. Faiza Al-Wehaibi. I owe my loving thanks to my wife, Ameerah, my kids Faisal, Fatima, and Sarah, for their patience during the years of the thesis preparation. My special gratitude is due to my brother, Prof. Amer Ali Al-Rawas for his continued support, advice, and words of encouragement. My loving thanks are due to my parent, brothers, and sisters in Oman. Lastly, I offer my regards to all of those who supported me in any respect during the completion of this thesis. iv Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents.................................................................................................................v List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures and Illustrations ....................................................................................... viii List of Symbols, Abbreviations and Nomenclature............................................................ x Epigraph............................................................................................................................ xii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..................................................................................1 1.1 Flash Floods in Oman................................................................................................2 1.2 Problem Statement.....................................................................................................5 1.3 Research Objectives and Methodology .....................................................................8 1.3.1 Objectives ..........................................................................................................8 1.3.2 Recognizing Challenges in This Research ........................................................8 1.4 Research Contributions............................................................................................10 1.5 Thesis Outline..........................................................................................................11 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................13 2.1 Characterizing and Modelling Heavy Rainfall ........................................................13 2.2 Characterizing the Watershed – A Hydrological Perspective .................................16 2.2.1 Black Box Models and the Use of GIS & Remote Sensing for Watershed Assessment and Analysis.................................................................................17 2.2.2 Rainfall-Runoff Modelling..............................................................................21 2.3 Mitigation, Planning, Warning and Management Systems .....................................23 2.4 Gaps Relating to Wadi Flash Flooding....................................................................25 2.4.1 Rainfall Characteristics ...................................................................................26