Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2018) | Viewed by 198250

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Special Issue Editors

Distinguished Professor, Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Interests: hydrological forecasting; AI techniques; data-driven modelling; water resources management; system analysis; optimization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Interests: remote sensing precipitation; stochastic hydrology; rainfall runoff modeling; hydrologic data mining and assimilation
Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Tamkang University, Tamsui, Taiwan
Interests: artificial neural networks; genetic algorithms; data mining; flood forecasting; hydrosystems; reservoir operation; urban hydrology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The degree and scale of flood hazards, nowadays, increases massively with the changing climate, and large-scale floodings jeopardize lives and property, accompanied by great economic losses, in inundation-prone areas of the world. Early flood warning systems with different lead times are promising countermeasures against flood hazards and losses. A collaborative assessment from multiple disciplines, comprising hydrology, remote sensing and meteorology, of the magnitude and impacts of flood hazards on inundation areas beneficially contributes to model integrity and the precision of flood forecasting. Emerging advances in computing technologies, coupled with big-data mining, have boosted data-driven applications, among which Machine Learning (ML) technology bearing flexibility and scalability in pattern extraction has modernized not only scientific thinking but also predictive applications.

In the context of flood hazard mitigation, methodologically-oriented countermeasures may involve forecasting on reservoir inflow, river flow, tropical cyclone track, and flooding at different lead times and/or scales through modern technologies such as, but not limited to, MLs, big-data mining, multiple data aggregation/ensembling, and model ensembling. Analyses of impacts, risks, uncertainty, vulnerability, resilience and scenarios coupled with policy-oriented suggestions will give insight into flood hazard mitigation. A geological information system (GIS) for visual presentation of inundation is also essential and helpful in decision-making.

This Special Issue of Water aims at exploring recent advances on flood management in a timely manner, and interdisciplinary approaches to modelling the complexity of flood hazards-related issues are welcomed. We also encourage contributions in integrative solutions at local, regional or global perspectives.

Prof. Fi-John Chang
Prof. Kuolin Hsu
Prof. Li-Chiu Chang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Artificial Neural Network(ANN)
  • Machine Learning(ML)
  • Big Data
  • Hydrology
  • Water Resources Management
  • Flood Inundation Forecast
  • Flood Early Warning System
  • Geological Information System (GIS)
  • Remote Sensing

Published Papers (19 papers)

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Editorial

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13 pages, 1965 KiB  
Editorial
Building an Intelligent Hydroinformatics Integration Platform for Regional Flood Inundation Warning Systems
by Li-Chiu Chang, Fi-John Chang, Shun-Nien Yang, I-Feng Kao, Ying-Yu Ku, Chun-Ling Kuo and Ir. Mohd Zaki bin Mat Amin
Water 2019, 11(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010009 - 21 Dec 2018
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 6765
Abstract
Flood disasters have had a great impact on city development. Early flood warning systems (EFWS) are promising countermeasures against flood hazards and losses. Machine learning (ML) is the kernel for building a satisfactory EFWS. This paper first summarizes the ML methods proposed in [...] Read more.
Flood disasters have had a great impact on city development. Early flood warning systems (EFWS) are promising countermeasures against flood hazards and losses. Machine learning (ML) is the kernel for building a satisfactory EFWS. This paper first summarizes the ML methods proposed in this special issue for flood forecasts and their significant advantages. Then, it develops an intelligent hydroinformatics integration platform (IHIP) to derive a user-friendly web interface system through the state-of-the-art machine learning, visualization and system developing techniques for improving online forecast capability and flood risk management. The holistic framework of the IHIP includes five layers (data access, data integration, servicer, functional subsystem, and end-user application) and one database for effectively dealing with flood disasters. The IHIP provides real-time flood-related data, such as rainfall and multi-step-ahead regional flood inundation maps. The interface of Google Maps fused into the IHIP significantly removes the obstacles for users to access this system, helps communities in making better-informed decisions about the occurrence of floods, and alerts communities in advance. The IHIP has been implemented in the Tainan City of Taiwan as the study case. The modular design and adaptive structure of the IHIP could be applied with similar efforts to other cities of interest for assisting the authorities in flood risk management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

20 pages, 2727 KiB  
Article
Application of Artificial Neural Networks for Accuracy Enhancements of Real-Time Flood Forecasting in the Imjin Basin
by Aida Jabbari and Deg-Hyo Bae
Water 2018, 10(11), 1626; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111626 - 11 Nov 2018
Cited by 42 | Viewed by 5948
Abstract
Hydrometeorological forecasts provide future flooding estimates to reduce damages. Despite the advances and progresses in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models, they are still subject to many uncertainties, which cause significant errors forecasting precipitation. Statistical postprocessing techniques can improve forecast skills by reducing the [...] Read more.
Hydrometeorological forecasts provide future flooding estimates to reduce damages. Despite the advances and progresses in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models, they are still subject to many uncertainties, which cause significant errors forecasting precipitation. Statistical postprocessing techniques can improve forecast skills by reducing the systematic biases in NWP models. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) can model complex relationships between input and output data. The application of ANN in water-related research is widely studied; however, there is a lack of studies quantifying the improvement of coupled hydrometeorological model accuracy that use ANN for bias correction of real-time rainfall forecasts. The aim of this study is to evaluate the real-time bias correction of precipitation data, and from a hydrometeorological point of view, an assessment of hydrological model improvements in real-time flood forecasting for the Imjin River (South and North Korea) is performed. The comparison of the forecasted rainfall before and after the bias correction indicated a significant improvement in the statistical error measurement and a decrease in the underestimation of WRF model. The error was reduced remarkably over the Imjin catchment for the accumulated Mean Areal Precipitation (MAP). The performance of the real-time flood forecast improved using the ANN bias correction method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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15 pages, 2163 KiB  
Article
Flood Routing Model with Particle Filter-Based Data Assimilation for Flash Flood Forecasting in the Micro-Model of Lower Yellow River, China
by Minghong Chen, Juanjuan Pang and Pengxiang Wu
Water 2018, 10(11), 1612; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111612 - 09 Nov 2018
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3765
Abstract
Reliable real-time flood forecasting is a challenging prerequisite for successful flood protection. This study developed a flood routing model combined with a particle filter-based assimilation model and a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model. This model was applied to an indoor micro-model, using the Lower Yellow [...] Read more.
Reliable real-time flood forecasting is a challenging prerequisite for successful flood protection. This study developed a flood routing model combined with a particle filter-based assimilation model and a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model. This model was applied to an indoor micro-model, using the Lower Yellow River (LYR) as prototype. Real-time observations of the water level from the micro-model were used for data assimilation. The results show that, compared to the traditional hydrodynamic model, the assimilation model could effectively update water level, flow discharge, and roughness coefficient in real time, thus yielding improved results. The mean water levels of the particle posterior distribution are closer to the observed values than before assimilation, even when water levels change greatly. In addition, the calculation results for different lead times indicate that the root mean square error of the forecasting water level gradually increases with increasing lead time. This is because the roughness value changes greatly in response to unsteady water flow, and the incurring error accumulates with the predicted period. The results show that the assimilation model can simulate water level changes in the micro-model and provide both research method and technical support for real flood forecasting in the LYR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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16 pages, 1214 KiB  
Article
Deep Learning with a Long Short-Term Memory Networks Approach for Rainfall-Runoff Simulation
by Caihong Hu, Qiang Wu, Hui Li, Shengqi Jian, Nan Li and Zhengzheng Lou
Water 2018, 10(11), 1543; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111543 - 30 Oct 2018
Cited by 343 | Viewed by 16310
Abstract
Considering the high random and non-static property of the rainfall-runoff process, lots of models are being developed in order to learn about such a complex phenomenon. Recently, Machine learning techniques such as the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and other networks have been extensively [...] Read more.
Considering the high random and non-static property of the rainfall-runoff process, lots of models are being developed in order to learn about such a complex phenomenon. Recently, Machine learning techniques such as the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and other networks have been extensively used by hydrologists for rainfall-runoff modelling as well as for other fields of hydrology. However, deep learning methods such as the state-of-the-art for LSTM networks are little studied in hydrological sequence time-series predictions. We deployed ANN and LSTM network models for simulating the rainfall-runoff process based on flood events from 1971 to 2013 in Fen River basin monitored through 14 rainfall stations and one hydrologic station in the catchment. The experimental data were from 98 rainfall-runoff events in this period. In between 86 rainfall-runoff events were used as training set, and the rest were used as test set. The results show that the two networks are all suitable for rainfall-runoff models and better than conceptual and physical based models. LSTM models outperform the ANN models with the values of R 2 and N S E beyond 0.9, respectively. Considering different lead time modelling the LSTM model is also more stable than ANN model holding better simulation performance. The special units of forget gate makes LSTM model better simulation and more intelligent than ANN model. In this study, we want to propose new data-driven methods for flood forecasting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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18 pages, 5278 KiB  
Article
Flash-Flood Forecasting in an Andean Mountain Catchment—Development of a Step-Wise Methodology Based on the Random Forest Algorithm
by Paul Muñoz, Johanna Orellana-Alvear, Patrick Willems and Rolando Célleri
Water 2018, 10(11), 1519; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111519 - 26 Oct 2018
Cited by 71 | Viewed by 7284
Abstract
Flash-flood forecasting has emerged worldwide due to the catastrophic socio-economic impacts this hazard might cause and the expected increase of its frequency in the future. In mountain catchments, precipitation-runoff forecasts are limited by the intrinsic complexity of the processes involved, particularly its high [...] Read more.
Flash-flood forecasting has emerged worldwide due to the catastrophic socio-economic impacts this hazard might cause and the expected increase of its frequency in the future. In mountain catchments, precipitation-runoff forecasts are limited by the intrinsic complexity of the processes involved, particularly its high rainfall variability. While process-based models are hard to implement, there is a potential to use the random forest algorithm due to its simplicity, robustness and capacity to deal with complex data structures. Here a step-wise methodology is proposed to derive parsimonious models accounting for both hydrological functioning of the catchment (e.g., input data, representation of antecedent moisture conditions) and random forest procedures (e.g., sensitivity analyses, dimension reduction, optimal input composition). The methodology was applied to develop short-term prediction models of varying time duration (4, 8, 12, 18 and 24 h) for a catchment representative of the Ecuadorian Andes. Results show that the derived parsimonious models can reach validation efficiencies (Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient) from 0.761 (4-h) to 0.384 (24-h) for optimal inputs composed only by features accounting for 80% of the model’s outcome variance. Improvement in the prediction of extreme peak flows was demonstrated (extreme value analysis) by including precipitation information in contrast to the use of pure autoregressive models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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14 pages, 1566 KiB  
Article
Multi-Objective Parameter Estimation of Improved Muskingum Model by Wolf Pack Algorithm and Its Application in Upper Hanjiang River, China
by Tao Bai, Jian Wei, Wangwang Yang and Qiang Huang
Water 2018, 10(10), 1415; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101415 - 10 Oct 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3019
Abstract
In order to overcome the problems in the parameter estimation of the Muskingum model, this paper introduces a new swarm intelligence optimization algorithm—Wolf Pack Algorithm (WPA). A new multi-objective function is designed by considering the weighted sum of absolute difference (SAD) and determination [...] Read more.
In order to overcome the problems in the parameter estimation of the Muskingum model, this paper introduces a new swarm intelligence optimization algorithm—Wolf Pack Algorithm (WPA). A new multi-objective function is designed by considering the weighted sum of absolute difference (SAD) and determination coefficient of the flood process. The WPA, its solving steps of calibration, and the model parameters are designed emphatically based on the basic principle of the algorithm. The performance of this algorithm is compared to the Trial Algorithm (TA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). Results of the application of these approaches with actual data from the downstream of Ankang River in Hanjiang River indicate that the WPA has a higher precision than other techniques and, thus, the WPA is an efficient alternative technique to estimate the parameters of the Muskingum model. The research results provide a new method for the parameter estimation of the Muskingum model, which is of great practical significance to improving the accuracy of river channel flood routing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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20 pages, 5589 KiB  
Article
Dongting Lake Water Level Forecast and Its Relationship with the Three Gorges Dam Based on a Long Short-Term Memory Network
by Chen Liang, Hongqing Li, Mingjun Lei and Qingyun Du
Water 2018, 10(10), 1389; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101389 - 04 Oct 2018
Cited by 85 | Viewed by 5081
Abstract
To study the Dongting Lake water level variation and its relationship with the upstream Three Gorges Dam (TGD), a deep learning method based on a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network is used to establish a model that predicts the daily water levels of [...] Read more.
To study the Dongting Lake water level variation and its relationship with the upstream Three Gorges Dam (TGD), a deep learning method based on a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network is used to establish a model that predicts the daily water levels of Dongting Lake. Seven factors are used as the input for the LSTM model and eight years of daily data (from 2003 to 2012) are used to train the model. Then, the model is applied to the test dataset (from 2011 to 2013) for forecasting and is evaluated using the root mean squared error (RMSE) and the coefficient of determination (R2). The test shows the LSTM model has better accuracy compared to the support vector machine (SVM) model. Furthermore, the model is adjusted to simulate the situation where the TGD does not exist to explore the dam’s impact. The experiment shows that the water level of Dongting Lake drops conspicuously every year from September to November during the TGD impounding period, and the water level increases mildly during dry seasons due to TGD replenishment. Additionally, the impact of the TGD results in a water level decline in Dongting Lake during flood peaks and a subsequent lagged rise. This research provides a tool for flood forecasting and offers a reference for TGD water regulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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17 pages, 1437 KiB  
Article
Flood Forecasting Based on an Improved Extreme Learning Machine Model Combined with the Backtracking Search Optimization Algorithm
by Lu Chen, Na Sun, Chao Zhou, Jianzhong Zhou, Yanlai Zhou, Junhong Zhang and Qing Zhou
Water 2018, 10(10), 1362; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101362 - 29 Sep 2018
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 3611
Abstract
Flood forecasting plays an important role in flood control and water resources management. Recently, the data-driven models with a simpler model structure and lower data requirement attract much more attentions. An extreme learning machine (ELM) method, as a typical data-driven method, with the [...] Read more.
Flood forecasting plays an important role in flood control and water resources management. Recently, the data-driven models with a simpler model structure and lower data requirement attract much more attentions. An extreme learning machine (ELM) method, as a typical data-driven method, with the advantages of a faster learning process and stronger generalization ability, has been taken as an effective tool for flood forecasting. However, an ELM model may suffer from local minima in some cases because of its random generation of input weights and hidden layer biases, which results in uncertainties in the flood forecasting model. Therefore, we proposed an improved ELM model for short-term flood forecasting, in which an emerging dual population-based algorithm, named backtracking search algorithm (BSA), was applied to optimize the parameters of ELM. Thus, the proposed method is called ELM-BSA. The upper Yangtze River was selected as a case study. Several performance indexes were used to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed ELM-BSA model. Then the proposed model was compared with the currently used general regression neural network (GRNN) and ELM models. Results show that the ELM-BSA can always provide better results than the GRNN and ELM models in both the training and testing periods. All these results suggest that the proposed ELM-BSA model is a promising alternative technique for flood forecasting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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18 pages, 4225 KiB  
Article
Identifying the Sensitivity of Ensemble Streamflow Prediction by Artificial Intelligence
by Yen-Ming Chiang, Ruo-Nan Hao, Jian-Quan Zhang, Ying-Tien Lin and Wen-Ping Tsai
Water 2018, 10(10), 1341; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101341 - 27 Sep 2018
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3053
Abstract
Sustainable water resources management is facing a rigorous challenge due to global climate change. Nowadays, improving streamflow predictions based on uneven precipitation is an important task. The main purpose of this study is to integrate the ensemble technique concept into artificial neural networks [...] Read more.
Sustainable water resources management is facing a rigorous challenge due to global climate change. Nowadays, improving streamflow predictions based on uneven precipitation is an important task. The main purpose of this study is to integrate the ensemble technique concept into artificial neural networks for reducing model uncertainty in hourly streamflow predictions. The ensemble streamflow predictions are built following two steps: (1) Generating the ensemble members through disturbance of initial weights, data resampling, and alteration of model structure; (2) consolidating the model outputs through the arithmetic average, stacking, and Bayesian model average. This study investigates various ensemble strategies on two study sites, where the watershed size and hydrological conditions are different. The results help to realize whether the ensemble methods are sensitive to hydrological or physiographical conditions. Additionally, the applicability and availability of the ensemble strategies can be easily evaluated in this study. Among various ensemble strategies, the best ESP is produced by the combination of boosting (data resampling) and Bayesian model average. The results demonstrate that the ensemble neural networks greatly improved the accuracy of streamflow predictions as compared to a single neural network, and the improvement made by the ensemble neural network is about 19–37% and 20–30% in Longquan Creek and Jinhua River watersheds, respectively, for 1–3 h ahead streamflow prediction. Moreover, the results obtained from different ensemble strategies are quite consistent in both watersheds, indicating that the ensemble strategies are insensitive to hydrological and physiographical factors. Finally, the output intervals of ensemble streamflow prediction may also reflect the possible peak flow, which is valuable information for flood prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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18 pages, 4758 KiB  
Article
Building ANN-Based Regional Multi-Step-Ahead Flood Inundation Forecast Models
by Li-Chiu Chang, Mohd Zaki M. Amin, Shun-Nien Yang and Fi-John Chang
Water 2018, 10(9), 1283; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10091283 - 19 Sep 2018
Cited by 81 | Viewed by 6695
Abstract
A regional inundation early warning system is crucial to alleviating flood risks and reducing loss of life and property. This study aims to provide real-time multi-step-ahead forecasting of flood inundation maps during storm events for flood early warnings in inundation-prone regions. For decades, [...] Read more.
A regional inundation early warning system is crucial to alleviating flood risks and reducing loss of life and property. This study aims to provide real-time multi-step-ahead forecasting of flood inundation maps during storm events for flood early warnings in inundation-prone regions. For decades, the Kemaman River Basin, located on the east coast of the West Malaysia Peninsular, has suffered from monsoon floods that have caused serious damage. The downstream region with an area of approximately 100 km2 located on the east side of this basin is selected as the study area. We explore and implement a hybrid ANN-based regional flood inundation forecast system in the study area. The system combines two popular artificial neural networks—the self-organizing map (SOM) and the recurrent nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous inputs (RNARX)—to sequentially produce regional flood inundation maps during storm events. The results show that: (1) the 4 × 4 SOM network can effectively cluster regional inundation depths; (2) RNARX networks can accurately forecast the long-term (3–12 h) regional average inundation depths; and (3) the hybrid models can produce adequate real-time regional flood inundation maps. The proposed ANN-based model was shown to very quickly carry out multi-step-ahead forecasting of area-wide inundation depths with sufficient lead time (up to 12 h) and can visualize the forecasted results on Google Earth using user devices to help decision makers and residents take precautionary measures against flooding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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28 pages, 11588 KiB  
Article
New Hybrids of ANFIS with Several Optimization Algorithms for Flood Susceptibility Modeling
by Dieu Tien Bui, Khabat Khosravi, Shaojun Li, Himan Shahabi, Mahdi Panahi, Vijay P. Singh, Kamran Chapi, Ataollah Shirzadi, Somayeh Panahi, Wei Chen and Baharin Bin Ahmad
Water 2018, 10(9), 1210; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10091210 - 07 Sep 2018
Cited by 183 | Viewed by 8953
Abstract
This study presents three new hybrid artificial intelligence optimization models—namely, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) with cultural (ANFIS-CA), bees (ANFIS-BA), and invasive weed optimization (ANFIS-IWO) algorithms—for flood susceptibility mapping (FSM) in the Haraz watershed, Iran. Ten continuous and categorical flood conditioning factors were [...] Read more.
This study presents three new hybrid artificial intelligence optimization models—namely, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) with cultural (ANFIS-CA), bees (ANFIS-BA), and invasive weed optimization (ANFIS-IWO) algorithms—for flood susceptibility mapping (FSM) in the Haraz watershed, Iran. Ten continuous and categorical flood conditioning factors were chosen based on the 201 flood locations, including topographic wetness index (TWI), river density, stream power index (SPI), curvature, distance from river, lithology, elevation, ground slope, land use, and rainfall. The step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) model was adopted for the assessment of relationship between flood locations and conditioning factors. The ANFIS model, based on SWARA weights, was employed for providing FSMs with three optimization models to enhance the accuracy of prediction. To evaluate the model performance and prediction capability, root-mean-square error (RMSE) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (area under the ROC (AUROC)) were used. Results showed that ANFIS-IWO with lower RMSE (0.359) had a better performance, while ANFIS-BA with higher AUROC (94.4%) showed a better prediction capability, followed by ANFIS0-IWO (0.939) and ANFIS-CA (0.921). These models can be suggested for FSM in similar climatic and physiographic areas for developing measures to mitigate flood damages and to sustainably manage floodplains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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24 pages, 2473 KiB  
Article
Flood Routing in River Reaches Using a Three-Parameter Muskingum Model Coupled with an Improved Bat Algorithm
by Saeed Farzin, Vijay P. Singh, Hojat Karami, Nazanin Farahani, Mohammad Ehteram, Ozgur Kisi, Mohammed Falah Allawi, Nuruol Syuhadaa Mohd and Ahmed El-Shafie
Water 2018, 10(9), 1130; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10091130 - 24 Aug 2018
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 5742
Abstract
Design of hydraulic structures, flood warning systems, evacuation measures, and traffic management require river flood routing. A common hydrologic method of flood routing is the Muskingum method. The present study attempted to develop a three-parameter Muskingum model considering lateral flow for flood routing, [...] Read more.
Design of hydraulic structures, flood warning systems, evacuation measures, and traffic management require river flood routing. A common hydrologic method of flood routing is the Muskingum method. The present study attempted to develop a three-parameter Muskingum model considering lateral flow for flood routing, coupling with a new optimization algorithm namely, Improved Bat Algorithm (IBA). The major function of the IBA is to optimize the estimated value of the three-parameters associated with the Muskingum model. The IBA acts based on the chaos search tool, which mainly enhances the uniformity and erogidicty of the population. In addition, the current research, unlike the other existing models which consider flood routing, is based on dividing one reach to a few intervals to increase the accuracy of flood routing models. Three case studies with lateral flow were considered for this study, including the Wilson flood, Karahan flood, and Myanmar flood. Seven performance indexes were examined to evaluate the performance of the proposed Muskingum model integrated with IBA, with other models that were also based on the Muskingum Model with three-parameters but utilized different optimization algorithms. The results for the Wilson flood showed that the proposed model could reduce the Sum of Squared Deviations (SSD) value by 89%, 51%, 93%, 69%, and 88%, compared to the Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, Pattern Search (PS) algorithm, Harmony Search (HS) algorithm, and Honey Bee Mating Optimization (HBMO), respectively. In addition, increasing the number of intervals for flood routing significantly improved the accuracy of the results. The results indicated that the Sum of Absolute Deviations (SAD) using IBA for the Karahan flood was 117, which had reduced by 83%, 88%, 94%, and 12%, compared to the PSO, GA, HS, and BA, respectively. Furthermore, the achieved results for the Myanmar flood showed that SSD for IBA relative to GA, BA, and PSO was reduced by 32%, 11%, and 42%, respectively. In conclusion, the proposed Muskingum Model integrated with IBA considering the existence of lateral flow, outperformed the existing applied simple Muskingum models in previous studies. In addition, the more the number of intervals used in the model, the better the accuracy of flood routing prediction achieved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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13 pages, 1982 KiB  
Article
Flood Hydrograph Prediction Using Machine Learning Methods
by Gokmen Tayfur, Vijay P. Singh, Tommaso Moramarco and Silvia Barbetta
Water 2018, 10(8), 968; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10080968 - 24 Jul 2018
Cited by 47 | Viewed by 6417
Abstract
Machine learning (soft) methods have a wide range of applications in many disciplines, including hydrology. The first application of these methods in hydrology started in the 1990s and have since been extensively employed. Flood hydrograph prediction is important in hydrology and is generally [...] Read more.
Machine learning (soft) methods have a wide range of applications in many disciplines, including hydrology. The first application of these methods in hydrology started in the 1990s and have since been extensively employed. Flood hydrograph prediction is important in hydrology and is generally done using linear or nonlinear Muskingum (NLM) methods or the numerical solutions of St. Venant (SV) flow equations or their simplified forms. However, soft computing methods are also utilized. This study discusses the application of the artificial neural network (ANN), the genetic algorithm (GA), the ant colony optimization (ACO), and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) methods for flood hydrograph predictions. Flow field data recorded on an equipped reach of Tiber River, central Italy, are used for training the ANN and to find the optimal values of the parameters of the rating curve method (RCM) by the GA, ACO, and PSO methods. Real hydrographs are satisfactorily predicted by the methods with an error in peak discharge and time to peak not exceeding, on average, 4% and 1%, respectively. In addition, the parameters of the Nonlinear Muskingum Model (NMM) are optimized by the same methods for flood routing in an artificial channel. Flood hydrographs generated by the NMM are compared against those obtained by the numerical solutions of the St. Venant equations. Results reveal that the machine learning models (ANN, GA, ACO, and PSO) are powerful tools and can be gainfully employed for flood hydrograph prediction. They use less and easily measurable data and have no significant parameter estimation problem. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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21 pages, 2168 KiB  
Article
Improving the Muskingum Flood Routing Method Using a Hybrid of Particle Swarm Optimization and Bat Algorithm
by Mohammad Ehteram, Faridah Binti Othman, Zaher Mundher Yaseen, Haitham Abdulmohsin Afan, Mohammed Falah Allawi, Marlinda Bt. Abdul Malek, Ali Najah Ahmed, Shamsuddin Shahid, Vijay P. Singh and Ahmed El-Shafie
Water 2018, 10(6), 807; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10060807 - 19 Jun 2018
Cited by 44 | Viewed by 6053
Abstract
Flood prediction and control are among the major tools for decision makers and water resources planners to avoid flood disasters. The Muskingum model is one of the most widely used methods for flood routing prediction. The Muskingum model contains four parameters that must [...] Read more.
Flood prediction and control are among the major tools for decision makers and water resources planners to avoid flood disasters. The Muskingum model is one of the most widely used methods for flood routing prediction. The Muskingum model contains four parameters that must be determined for accurate flood routing. In this context, an optimization process that self-searches for the optimal values of these four parameters might improve the traditional Muskingum model. In this study, a hybrid of the bat algorithm (BA) and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, i.e., the hybrid bat-swarm algorithm (HBSA), was developed for the optimal determination of these four parameters. Data for the three different case studies from the USA and the UK were utilized to examine the suitability of the proposed HBSA for flood routing. Comparative analyses based on the sum of squared deviations (SSD), sum of absolute deviations (SAD), error of peak discharge, and error of time to peak showed that the proposed HBSA based on the Muskingum model achieved excellent flood routing accuracy compared to that of other methods while requiring less computational time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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17 pages, 4306 KiB  
Article
Physical Hybrid Neural Network Model to Forecast Typhoon Floods
by You-Da Jhong, Chang-Shian Chen, Hsin-Ping Lin and Shien-Tsung Chen
Water 2018, 10(5), 632; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10050632 - 13 May 2018
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 4760
Abstract
This study proposed a hybrid neural network model that combines a self-organizing map (SOM) and back-propagation neural networks (BPNNs) to model the rainfall-runoff process in a physically interpretable manner and to accurately forecast typhoon floods. The SOM and a two-stage clustering scheme were [...] Read more.
This study proposed a hybrid neural network model that combines a self-organizing map (SOM) and back-propagation neural networks (BPNNs) to model the rainfall-runoff process in a physically interpretable manner and to accurately forecast typhoon floods. The SOM and a two-stage clustering scheme were applied to group hydrologic data into four clusters, each of which represented a meaningful hydrologic component of the rainfall-runoff process. BPNNs were constructed for each cluster to achieve high forecasting capability. The physical hybrid neural network model was used to forecast typhoon flood discharges in Wu River in Taiwan by using two types of rainfall data. The clustering results demonstrated that the rainfall-runoff process was favorably described by the sequence of derived clusters. The flood forecasting results indicated that the proposed hybrid neural network model has good forecasting capability, and the performance of the models using the two types of rainfall data is similar. In addition, the derived lagged inputs are hydrologically meaningful, and the number and activation function of the hidden nodes can be rationally interpreted. This study also developed a traditional, single BPNN model trained using the whole calibration data for comparison with the hybrid neural network model. The proposed physical hybrid neural network model outperformed the traditional neural network model in forecasting the peak discharges and low flows. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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16 pages, 4689 KiB  
Article
Data Pre-Analysis and Ensemble of Various Artificial Neural Networks for Monthly Streamflow Forecasting
by Jianzhong Zhou, Tian Peng, Chu Zhang and Na Sun
Water 2018, 10(5), 628; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10050628 - 13 May 2018
Cited by 72 | Viewed by 5857
Abstract
This paper introduces three artificial neural network (ANN) architectures for monthly streamflow forecasting: a radial basis function network, an extreme learning machine, and the Elman network. Three ensemble techniques, a simple average ensemble, a weighted average ensemble, and an ANN-based ensemble, were used [...] Read more.
This paper introduces three artificial neural network (ANN) architectures for monthly streamflow forecasting: a radial basis function network, an extreme learning machine, and the Elman network. Three ensemble techniques, a simple average ensemble, a weighted average ensemble, and an ANN-based ensemble, were used to combine the outputs of the individual ANN models. The objective was to highlight the performance of the general regression neural network-based ensemble technique (GNE) through an improvement of monthly streamflow forecasting accuracy. Before the construction of an ANN model, data preanalysis techniques, such as empirical wavelet transform (EWT), were exploited to eliminate the oscillations of the streamflow series. Additionally, a theory of chaos phase space reconstruction was used to select the most relevant and important input variables for forecasting. The proposed GNE ensemble model has been applied for the mean monthly streamflow observation data from the Wudongde hydrological station in the Jinsha River Basin, China. Comparisons and analysis of this study have demonstrated that the denoised streamflow time series was less disordered and unsystematic than was suggested by the original time series according to chaos theory. Thus, EWT can be adopted as an effective data preanalysis technique for the prediction of monthly streamflow. Concurrently, the GNE performed better when compared with other ensemble techniques. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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20 pages, 5895 KiB  
Article
Extraction of Urban Water Bodies from High-Resolution Remote-Sensing Imagery Using Deep Learning
by Yang Chen, Rongshuang Fan, Xiucheng Yang, Jingxue Wang and Aamir Latif
Water 2018, 10(5), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10050585 - 01 May 2018
Cited by 152 | Viewed by 11879
Abstract
Accurate information on urban surface water is important for assessing the role it plays in urban ecosystem services in the context of human survival and climate change. The precise extraction of urban water bodies from images is of great significance for urban planning [...] Read more.
Accurate information on urban surface water is important for assessing the role it plays in urban ecosystem services in the context of human survival and climate change. The precise extraction of urban water bodies from images is of great significance for urban planning and socioeconomic development. In this paper, a novel deep-learning architecture is proposed for the extraction of urban water bodies from high-resolution remote sensing (HRRS) imagery. First, an adaptive simple linear iterative clustering algorithm is applied for segmentation of the remote-sensing image into high-quality superpixels. Then, a new convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture is designed that can extract useful high-level features of water bodies from input data in a complex urban background and mark the superpixel as one of two classes: an including water or no-water pixel. Finally, a high-resolution image of water-extracted superpixels is generated. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieved higher accuracy for water extraction from the high-resolution remote-sensing images than traditional approaches, and the average overall accuracy is 99.14%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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15 pages, 11867 KiB  
Article
Forward Prediction of Runoff Data in Data-Scarce Basins with an Improved Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) Model
by Yinghao Yu, Hongbo Zhang and Vijay P. Singh
Water 2018, 10(4), 388; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10040388 - 27 Mar 2018
Cited by 53 | Viewed by 4296
Abstract
Data scarcity is a common problem in hydrological calculations that often makes water resources planning and engineering design challenging. Combining ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), a radial basis function (RBF) neural network, and an autoregression (AR) model, an improved EEMD prediction model is [...] Read more.
Data scarcity is a common problem in hydrological calculations that often makes water resources planning and engineering design challenging. Combining ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), a radial basis function (RBF) neural network, and an autoregression (AR) model, an improved EEMD prediction model is proposed for runoff series forward prediction, i.e., runoff series extension. In the improved model, considering the decomposition-prediction-reconstruction principle, EEMD was employed for decomposition and reconstruction and the RBF and AR model were used for component prediction. Also, the method of tracking energy differences (MTED) was used as stopping criteria for EEMD in order to solve the problem of mode mixing that occurs frequently in EEMD. The orthogonality index (Ort) and the relative average deviation (RAD) were introduced to verify the mode mixing and prediction performance. A case study showed that the MTED-based decomposition was significantly better than decomposition methods using the standard deviation (SD) criteria and the G. Rilling (GR) criteria. After MTED-based decomposition, mode mixing in EEMD was suppressed effectively (|Ort| < 0.23) and stable orthogonal components were obtained. For this, annual runoff series forward predictions using the improved EEMD-based prediction model were significantly better (RAD < 11.1%) than predictions by the rainfall-runoff method and the AR model method. Thus, this forward prediction model can be regarded as an approach for hydrological series extension, and shows promise for practical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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Review

Jump to: Editorial, Research

40 pages, 3187 KiB  
Review
Flood Prediction Using Machine Learning Models: Literature Review
by Amir Mosavi, Pinar Ozturk and Kwok-wing Chau
Water 2018, 10(11), 1536; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111536 - 27 Oct 2018
Cited by 791 | Viewed by 76300
Abstract
Floods are among the most destructive natural disasters, which are highly complex to model. The research on the advancement of flood prediction models contributed to risk reduction, policy suggestion, minimization of the loss of human life, and reduction of the property damage associated [...] Read more.
Floods are among the most destructive natural disasters, which are highly complex to model. The research on the advancement of flood prediction models contributed to risk reduction, policy suggestion, minimization of the loss of human life, and reduction of the property damage associated with floods. To mimic the complex mathematical expressions of physical processes of floods, during the past two decades, machine learning (ML) methods contributed highly in the advancement of prediction systems providing better performance and cost-effective solutions. Due to the vast benefits and potential of ML, its popularity dramatically increased among hydrologists. Researchers through introducing novel ML methods and hybridizing of the existing ones aim at discovering more accurate and efficient prediction models. The main contribution of this paper is to demonstrate the state of the art of ML models in flood prediction and to give insight into the most suitable models. In this paper, the literature where ML models were benchmarked through a qualitative analysis of robustness, accuracy, effectiveness, and speed are particularly investigated to provide an extensive overview on the various ML algorithms used in the field. The performance comparison of ML models presents an in-depth understanding of the different techniques within the framework of a comprehensive evaluation and discussion. As a result, this paper introduces the most promising prediction methods for both long-term and short-term floods. Furthermore, the major trends in improving the quality of the flood prediction models are investigated. Among them, hybridization, data decomposition, algorithm ensemble, and model optimization are reported as the most effective strategies for the improvement of ML methods. This survey can be used as a guideline for hydrologists as well as climate scientists in choosing the proper ML method according to the prediction task. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Flood Forecasting Using Machine Learning Methods)
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