Rainfall Measurement Systems in Mauritius and IDF curves

DONE BY:

KEERODHUR KHEVIN 0813537 DOMUN AL-AFTAB 0811969 THIELAMAY DOURAIVEN - 0810731 KUREEMUN YAASIR 0812354 GOWREEA RAVIRAJ - 0814048

INTRODUCTION
In order to measure the effect of precipitation, it is necessary to

measure the precipitation, and to find out its distribution at

various places on the earth. (Garg, 2005, p.107)

As stated by Garg above, rainfall measurement must be done at

different places, since the amount of precipitation varies from place to place and different period in order to get an idea of the amount the rainfall (in mm or the intensity) fallen all over the country and at specific places.
Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve 18th Nov 2011

INSTRUMENTS USED TO MEASURE RAINFALL

Three types of instruments that the local Meteorological Station uses:

Raingauge
Tipping Bucket Automatic Weather Station

Rainfall is monitored at 250 stations spread over the island. 220 stations operated

by the Sugar Estates are measuring the total daily rainfall. 30 continuous
recording stations provide data about intensity and duration of rainfall.
Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve 18th Nov 2011

RAINGAUGE
Pictures taken at the local Meteorological Station

Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve

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RAINGAUGE
Meteorological instrument for determining the depth

of precipitation in mm that occurs over a unit area (usually one m2) and thus measuring rainfall amount in mm

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RAINGAUGE
Advantage

Cheap compared with other instrument

No cost associated with the maintenance Small in size and easy to install

Disadvantage

Must be maintained daily

Spare glass bottle must be kept

Data can be biased during heavy rainfall
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Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve

TIPPING BUCKET
Pictures taken at the local Meteorological Station

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TIPPING BUCKET
A tipping bucket rain gauge is a meteorological

device that measures the amount of precipitation, or rain that has fallen. It is one of the most common tools used to measure rainfall.

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TIPPING BUCKET
Advantage

Most popular recording raingauges used and generally providing

relatively accurate point estimates of precipitation, especially for low to intermediate intensity

Disadvantage

It may underestimate the quantity of rainfall especially during the heavy rains or extreme snowfall.

It suffer errors due to both catching and counting inaccuracies ( i.e.

losses through strong winds, wetting, drop splashing, dirt and evaporation)

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AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATION

Pictures taken at the local Meteorological Station

Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve

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AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATION

An Automatic Weather Station (AWS) is an automated version of

the traditional weather station, either to save human labour or to

enable measurements from remote areas.
An AWS will typically consist of a weather-proof enclosure

containing the data logger, rechargeable battery, telemetry and the meteorological sensors with an attached solar panel or wind

turbine and mounted upon a mast.

There are 22 AWS installed at different places in Mauritius
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AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATION

Advantage

AWS is more consistent in their measurement AWS provides data at a significantly greater frequency (some provide data every minute)

AWS provides data in all weather, day and night, 365 days per year AWS can be installed in sparsely populated areas

Disadvantage

AWS require a large capital investment AWS are less flexible than human observers
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Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve

METHODS OF AVERAGING RAINFALL DATA

There are three methods of averaging rainfall date:

Arithmetic average Theissen polygons Isohyetal method

Although nowadays, most of these calculations are done

with computer mapping programs, it is still useful to understand these methods.

Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve 18th Nov 2011

THEISSEN METHOD FOR MAPPING RAINFALL

This involves determining the area of influence for each

stativariation. It is easier than the isohyetal method but less

accurate
How to create Theissen on, rather than assuming a straight-

line polygons?

Locate all rainfall stations. Form a series of triangles by connecting nearby stations.

Erect perpendicular bisectors on each of these lines and extend them to

the intersect with other bisectors, thus forming a series of irregular polygons

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THEISSEN METHOD FOR MAPPING RAINFALL

Theissen Polygon Network

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ISOHYETAL METHOD
The most basic method of representing the spatial distribution.

This is generally the most accurate method but is also the most
laborious.
How to draw isohyet lines?

Locate all rainfall stations on a base map and record the rainfall amount.
Draw isohyets (lines of equal rainfall). Calculate the mean precipitation for the area corresponding to each

isohyets.

Calculate the fraction of catchment area under isohyet, multiply by the mean precipitation for that area and sum to get the catchment average.

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ISOHYETAL METHOD

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RAINFALL ANALYSIS
There are three common methods to analyse rainfall:

Storm event analysis Intensity-duration-frequency(IDF) curves Probable maximum precipitation method

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INTENSITY DURATION FREQUENCY CURVE

What is an IDF curve?

An IDF curve is a tool that characterizes an areas rainfall pattern. It is a graphical representation of the probability that a given average rainfall intensity will occur.

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INTENSITY DURATION FREQUENCY CURVE

How to create an IDF curve?

IDF curves are created by analyzing years of rainfall records. IDF curves are developed as follows: Using a long term rainfall record for each specified rainfall duration(5, 10, 15, 60, 90, 120)

The annual maximum rainfall depth are extracted from period of record. This results from one depth value for each year of record.

A frequency analysis is recorded on the annual series. The Intensity and duration points are plotted for selected frequencies.
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Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve

INTENSITY DURATION FREQUENCY CURVE

Interpreting an IDF curve

Intensity, duration and frequency are the parameters that make up the axes of the graph of IDF curves

Each plotted lines in the graph represents rainfall events with the same probability of occurrence in a range of duration.

Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve

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INTENSITY DURATION FREQUENCY CURVE

Interpreting an IDF curve

Intensity, duration and frequency are the parameters that make up the axes of the graph of IDF curves

Each plotted lines in the graph represents rainfall events with the same probability of occurrence in a range of duration.

Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve

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INTENSITY DURATION FREQUENCY CURVE

Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve

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INTENSITY DURATION FREQUENCY CURVE

Characteristic of an IDF curve

A single curve represents data from several storm events likely from different years.

IDF curves do not represent time histories of real storms. Intensity are averages over indicated durations.

IDF curves provide the average intensity for specific duration and

frequency and is very commonly used for the design of hydraulic

structures.
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INTENSITY DURATION FREQUENCY CURVE

Application of IDF curves in the Engineering field.

For design of hydraulic structures such as gutters, ditches, standard

culverts, bridges-design for river flow passage.

For estimating discharge using the rational method.

Qmax = CIA
Where Qmax = design flood (m3/s) C = runoff coefficient between 0 and 1.0 A = catchment area (Km2) I = mean intensity of rainfall in mm/h during the time of concentration
Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve 18th Nov 2011

Rainfall Measurement System in Mauritius & IDF Curve

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