https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2023.2102
Hydrological characteristics of extreme floods in the Klaserie River, a headwater stream in southern Africa
Submitted: 29 October 2022
Accepted: 15 March 2023
Published: 11 April 2023
Accepted: 15 March 2023
Abstract Views: 1553
PDF: 389
Supplementary: 42
HTML: 42
Supplementary: 42
HTML: 42
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
Climate change models for southern Africa predict less frequent, but more intense, rainfall events, and an increased frequency of tropical cyclones. With their steep topography and small catchments, headwater streams generate large floods following intense rainfall events. Large flooding events in headwater streams are under studied in southern Africa. In this paper, we explore flooding in the upper Klaserie River, Limpopo River System, South Africa to determine the flow distribution and flood frequency for the catchment. In addition, we determine the return level for a large, economically damaging, flood generated following the landfall of a sub-tropical depression in January 2012 and, attempt to identify rainfall patterns that resulted in similar floods. An annual hydrological cycle with summer maxima and winter minima for both rainfall and flow was identified. The flood frequency analysis demonstrated that the January 2012 flood had an estimated return level of 225 years. This flood had a peak flowrate exceeding 1200 m3s-1 in a system with an average daily flowrate of 1 m3s-1. Regression tree analysis showed that a two-day rainfall in excess of 240 was a predictor for four of the five largest floods. A two-day rainfall in excess of 400 mm distinguished the January 2012 flood from other floods. Non-stationarity analyses for the flow and rainfall data and a SWAT hydrological model are recommend for the upper Klaserie River to evaluate climate and land cover changes, and their relationship to the magnitude of the 2012 flood. Our study demonstrates that South African river monitoring data can be used to detect and characterize major floods, despite deficiencies in these data. Continuation of these monitoring programs is vital for river health monitoring and the detection of trends in floods resulting from human activities and climate change.
Abell R, Theime ML, Revenga C, Bryer M, Kottelat M, Bogutskaya N, et al. 2008. Freshwater Ecoregions of the world: a new map of biogeographic units for freshwater biodiversity conservation. BioScience 58:403-414.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1641/B580507
Allaire M, 2018. Socio-economic impacts of flooding: A review of the empirical literature. Water Secur 3:18-26.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2018.09.002
Balian EV, Segers H, Lévèque C, Martens K, 2008. The Freshwater animal diversity assessment: an overview of the results. Hydrobiologia 595:627-637.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9246-3
Ball J, Babister M 2019. Catchment simulation for design flood estimation. Book 4 in Australian rainfall and runoff: A guide to flood estimation. Commonwealth of Australia (Geosciences Australia): 86 pp.
Brooks N, Clarke J, Ngaruiya GW, Wangui EE, 2020. African heritage in a changing climate. Azania 55:297-328.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2020.1792177
Carpenter SR, Stanley EH, Vander Zanden MJ, 2011. State of the world's freshwater ecosystems: physical, chemical, and biological changes. Annu Rev Environ Resour 36:75-99.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-021810-094524
Chopra R, Dhiman RD, Sharma PK, 2005. Morphometric analysis of sub-watersheds in Gurdaspur district, Punjab using remote sensing and GIS techniques. J Indian Soc Remote 33:531-539.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02990738
Cronshey R, 1986. Urban hydrology for small watersheds. Technical Release 55. US Dept. of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Engineering Division: 162 pp.
Davie T, Quinn NW. 2019. Fundamentals of hydrology. Routledge.: 221 pp.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203798942
Davies BR, Day JA, 1998. Vanishing waters. University of Cape Town Press: 487 pp.
de Wit M, Stankiewicz J, 2006. Changes in surface water supply across Africa with predicted climate change. Science 311:1917-1921.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1119929
Department of Water and Sanitation, 2021. Surface water quality for the Olifants River. Water Management Systems, Institute for Water Quality Studies, Department of Water and Sanitation, Pretoria.
Do HX, Mei Y, Gronewold AD, 2020. To what extent are changes in flood magnitude related to changes in precipitation extremes? Geophys Res Lett 47:e2020GL088684.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL088684
Doocy S, Daniels A, Murray S, Kirsch TD, 2013. The human impact of floods: a historical review of events 1980-2009 and systematic literature review. PLoS Curr 5:ecurrents.dis.f4deb457904936b07c09daa98ee8171a.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.dis.f4deb457904936b07c09daa98ee8171a
Durocher M, Mostofi Zadeh S, Burn DH, Ashkar F, 2018. Comparison of automatic procedures for selecting flood peaks over threshold based on goodness-of-fit tests. Hydrol Process 32:2874-2887.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13223
FAO, 1995. Digital Soil Map of the World and derived properties (ver. 3.5). FAO Land and Water Digital Media Series #1.
Feeley H, Davis S, Bruen M, Blacklocke S, Kelly-Quinn M, 2012. The impact of a catastrophic storm event on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in upland headwater streams and potential implications for ecological diversity and assessement of ecological status. J Limnol 71:109-318.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimol.2012.e32
Fitchett JM, 2018. Recent emergence of CAT5 tropical cyclones in the South Indian Ocean. S Afr J Sci 114:1-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2018/4426
Fitchett JM, Hoogendoorn G, Swemmer AM, 2016. Economic costs of the 2012 floods on tourism in the Mopani District Municipality, South Africa. Trans R Soc South Africa 71:187-194.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0035919X.2016.1167788
Fowler HJ, Ali H, Allan RP, Ban N, Barbero R, Berg P, et al., 2021. Towards advancing scientific knowledge of climate change impacts on short-duration rainfall extremes. Philos Trans R Soc A 379:20190542.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0542
Gardiner V, Park CC, 1978. Drainage basin morphometry: review and assessment. Progress Phys Geogr 2:1-35.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/030913337800200102
Goudie A, 2004. Encyclopedia of geomorphology. Routledge, London: 1202 pp.
Goudie A, Lewin J, Richards K, Anderson M, Burt T, Whalley B, Worsley P, 2003. Geomorphological techniques. Routledge, London: 592 pp.
Hannweg B, Marr SM, Bloy L, Weyl OLF, 2020. Using action cameras to estimate the abundance of threatened fishes in clear headwater streams. Afr J Aquat Sci 45:372-377.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2989/16085914.2019.1701404
Heritage G, Entwistle N, Milan D, Tooth S, 2019. Quantifying and contextualising cyclone-driven, extreme flood magnitudes in bedrock-influenced dryland rivers. Adv Water Resour 123:145-159.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2018.11.006
Heritage G, Tooth S, Entwistle N, Milan D, 2015. Long-term flood controls on semi-arid river form: evidence from the Sabie and Olifants rivers, eastern South Africa. Proc Int Assoc Hydrol 367:141-146.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-367-141-2015
Hirsch RM, Archfield SA, 2015. Not higher but more often. Nat Clim Change 5:198-199.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2551
Horton RE, 1945. Erosional development of streams and their drainage basins; hydrophysical approach to quantitative morphology. Geol Soc Am Bull 56:275-370.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1945)56[275:EDOSAT]2.0.CO;2
Johnson MR, Anhauesser CR, Thomas RJ. 2006. The geology of South Africa. Geological Society of South Africa, Pretoria / Council for Geoscience, Johannesburg: 691 pp.
Khaliq MN, Ouarda TBMJ, Ondo JC, Gachon P, Bobée B, 2006. Frequency analysis of a sequence of dependent and/or non-stationary hydro-meteorological observations: A review. J Hydrol 329:534-552.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.03.004
Kim SU, Son M, Chung E-S, Yu X, 2018. Effects of non-stationarity on flood frequency analysis: case study of the Cheongmicheon watershed in South Korea. Sustainability 10:1329.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051329
King J, Brown C, Sabet H, 2003. A scenario-based holistic approach to environmental flow assessments for rivers. River Res Appl 19:619-639.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.709
Meyer JL, Strayer DL, Wallace JB, Eggert SL, Helfman GS, Leonard NE, 2007. The contribution of headwater streams to biodiversity in river networks. J Am Water Resour As 43:86-103.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00008.x
Milan D, Heritage G, Tooth S, Entwistle N, 2018. Morphodynamics of bedrock-influenced dryland rivers during extreme floods: Insights from the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Geol Soc Am Bull 130:1825-1841.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/B31839.1
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Ecosystem and human well-being: synthesis. World Resources Institute: 155 pp.
Milly PCD, Betancourt J, Falkenmark M, Hirsch RM, Kundzewicz ZW, Lettenmaier DP, Stouffer RJ, 2008. Stationarity is dead: whither water management? Science 319:573-574.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1151915
Mostofi Zadeh S, Durocher M, Burn DH, Ashkar F, 2019. Pooled flood frequency analysis: a comparison based on peaks-over-threshold and annual maximum series. Hydrol Sci J 64:121-136.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2019.1577556
Mucina L, Rutherford MC, 2006. The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. South African National Biodiversity Institute: 808 pp.
Naiman RJ, Latterell JJ, Pettit NE, Olden JD, 2008. Flow variability and the biophysical vitality of river systems. Comptes Rendus Geoscience 340:629-643.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crte.2008.01.002
Nathan R, Weinmann PE, 2019. Estimation of very rare to extreme floods. Book 8 in Australian rainfall and runoff: A guide to flood estimation. Commonwealth of Australia (Geosciences Australia): 120 pp.
Neitsch SL, Arnold JG, Kiniry JR, Williams JR. 2011. Soil and water assessment tool theoretical documentation version 2009, p. 506. Texas Water Resources Institute, College Station, TWRI Report TR-191.
Oksanen J, Blanchet FG, Kindt R, Legendre P, O’Hara RB, Simpson GL, et al., 2018. VEGAN: Community Ecology Package version 2.5-3. Available from: http://R-Forge.R-project.org/projects/vegan/
Pardé M, 1964. [Fleuves et rivières].[Book in French]. Armand Colin, Paris: 224 pp.
Parsons M, McLoughlin CA, Kotschy KA, Rogers KH, Rountree MW, 2005. The effects of extreme floods on the biophysical heterogeneity of river landscapes. Front Ecol Environ 3:487-494.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1890/1540-9295(2005)003[0487:TEOEFO]2.0.CO;2
Peel MC, Finlayson BL, McMahon TA, 2007. Updated world map of the Koppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 4:439-473.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/hessd-4-439-2007
Perry KA. 2014. Application of the SWAT hydrological model in a small, mountainous catchment in South Africa. Unpublished MSc Thesis in Water Resource Management, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria: 79 pp.
Pretorius l, Rautenbach H, 2012. A Long-term synoptic-scale climate study over Mariepskop, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Clean Air J 22:2-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17159/caj/2012/22/2.7076
R Development Core Team. 2022. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna
Ribatet M, Dutang C. 2022. POT: Generalized Pareto distribution and peaks over threshold. R package version 1.1-10. Available from: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=POT
Richardson JS, 2019. Biological diversity in headwater streams. Water 11:366.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020366
Schumm SA, 1956. Evolution of drainage systems and slopes in badlands at Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Geol Soc Am Bull 67:597-646.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1956)67[597:EODSAS]2.0.CO;2
Sharma A, Wasko C, Lettenmaier DP, 2018. If precipitation extremes are increasing, why aren't floods? Water Resour Res 54:8545-8551.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023749
Sherman LK, 1932. Streamflow from rainfall by the unit-graph method. Engineering News Record 108:501-505.
Sitterson J, Knightes C, Parmar R, Wolfe K, Avant B, Muche M, 2018. An overview of rainfall-runoff model types. EPA/600/R-17/482, 2017. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: 30 pp.
Slater L, Villarini G, Archfield S, Faulkner D, Lamb R, Khouakhi A, Yin J, 2021a. Global changes in 20‐year, 50‐year, and 100‐year river floods. Geophys Res Lett 48:e2020GL091824.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091824
Slater LJ, Anderson B, Buechel M, Dadson S, Han S, Harrigan S, et al., 2021b. Nonstationary weather and water extremes: a review of methods for their detection, attribution, and management. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 25:3897-3935. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3897-2021.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3897-2021
South African National Biodiversity Institute, 2008. Archived National Land Cover 2009 [vector geospatial dataset]. Biodiversity GIS website.
Strahler AN, 1957. Quantitative analysis of watershed geomorphology. Eos T Am Geophys Un 38:913-920.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/TR038i006p00913
Therneau T, Atkinson B, Ripley B. 2013. Rpart: Recursive Partitioning. R Package Version 4.1-3. Available from: http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=rpart
Trubilowicz JW, Moore RD, Buttle JM, 2013. Prediction of stream‐flow regime using ecological classification zones. Hydrol Process 27:1935-1944.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9874
Turner MG, Dale VH, 1998. Comparing large, infrequent disturbances: what have we learned? Ecosystems 1:493-496.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s100219900045
Van der Schijff HP, Schoonraad E, 1971. The flora of the Mariepskop complex. Bothalia 10:461-500.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/abc.v10i3.1554
Villarini G, Taylor S, Wobus C, Vogel R, Hecht J, White KD, et al., 2018. Floods and nonstationarity: A review. CWTS 2018-01, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Wasko C, Nathan R, Peel MC, 2020. Changes in antecedent soil moisture modulate flood seasonality in a changing climate. Water Resour Res 56:e2019WR026300.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019WR026300
Westra S, Fowler HJ, Evans JP, Alexander LV, Berg P, Johnson F, et al., 2014. Future changes to the intensity and frequency of short-duration extreme rainfall. Rev Geophysi 52:522-555.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2014RG000464
Yamashita Y, Kloeppel BD, Knoepp J, Zausen GL, Jaffé R, 2011. Effects of watershed history on dissolved organic matter characteristics in headwater streams. Ecosystems 14:1110-1122.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9469-z
Edited by
Diego Fontaneto, National Research Council, Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA), Verbania Pallanza, ItalySupporting Agencies
South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON)How to Cite
Marr, Sean Murray, and Anthony Michael Swemmer. 2023. “Hydrological Characteristics of Extreme Floods in the Klaserie River, a Headwater Stream in Southern Africa”. Journal of Limnology 82 (1). https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2023.2102.
Copyright (c) 2023 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Similar Articles
- Daniela Lupi, Anna Rocco, Bruno Rossaro, Benthic macroinvertebrates in Italian rice fields , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 72 No. 1 (2013)
- Rafael Campanelli Mortari, Raoul Henry, Horizontal distribution of Cladocera in a subtropical lake marginal to a river , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 75 No. 1 (2016)
- Elzbieta Dumnicka, Kamil Najberek, Valeria Lencioni, Oligochaete distribution in alpine freshwaters: not a mere question of altitude , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 82 (2023)
- Bárbara Becker, Bárbara de Oliveira Sanches Galhardo, Diego Rodrigues Macedo, Robert M. Hughes, Marcos Callisto, Gilmar B. Santos, Influence of limnological zones on the spatial distribution of fish assemblages in three Brazilian reservoirs , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 75 No. 1 (2016)
- Cristiana Callieri, J. Salvador Hernández-Avilés, Ester M. Eckert, Michela Rogora, Gabriele Tartari, Tommaso Sforzi, Raffaella Sabatino, Roberto Bertoni, Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), phytoplankton and picocyanobacteria along a littoral-to-pelagic depth-gradient in a large subalpine lake , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 80 No. 3 (2021): Celebratory Issue - 80th Anniversary of the Journal of Limnology
- J. Salvador Hernandez-Aviles, Roberto Bertoni, Miroslav Macek, Cristiana Callieri, Why bacteria are smaller in the epilimnion than in the hypolimnion? A hypothesis comparing temperate and tropical lakes , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 71 No. 1 (2012)
- Clara E. Moreno, Eirik Fjeld, Min K. Deshar, Espen Lydersen, Seasonal variation of mercury and δ15N in fish from Lake Heddalsvatn, southern Norway , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 74 No. 1 (2015)
- Fabio Stoch, Barbara Fiasca, Tiziana Di Lorenzo, Silvano Porfirio, Marco Petitta, Diana M.P. Galassi, Exploring copepod distribution patterns at three nested spatial scales in a spring system: habitat partitioning and potential for hydrological bioindication , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 75 No. 1 (2016)
- Angela Boggero, Lyudmila Kamburska, Silvia Zaupa, Marzia Ciampittiello, Michela Rogora, Tiziana Di Lorenzo, Synoptic results on the potential impacts of the Lake Maggiore water management strategy on freshwater littoral ecosystems and invertebrate biocoenosis (NW, Italy) , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 81 No. s2 (2022): Effects of water level management on lake littorals and downstream river areas
- Fernando G. Spaccesi, Alberto Rodrigues Capitulo, Benthic communities on hard substrates covered by Limnoperna fortunei Dunker (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) at an estuarine beach (Río de la Plata, Argentina) , Journal of Limnology: Vol. 71 No. 1 (2012)
<< < 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 > >>
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
List of Cited By :
