After five decades, the field of Statistical Hydrology continues to evolve and remains a very active area of investigation. Researchers continue to examine various distributions, methods of estimation of parameters, and problems related to regionalization. However, much of this research appears in journals and reports and usually in a form not easily accessible to practitioners and students-producing a gap between research and practice.
    Flood Frequency Analysis fills this gap by presenting many of these distributions and estimation procedures in a unified format within a single, self-contained book. Focusing on distribution families popular within the hydrologic community, the authors discuss three parameter estimation methods for each distribution: the method of moments, the maximum likelihood method, and the method of probability weighted moments. They present the details behind the procedures to provide the basis for the computations, and they illustrate each procedure with real data. Most of the computations discussed have been programmed for use with personal computers, and executable versions of these programs are available on CD-ROM from the senior author.
    Only increased use of new methods and distributions can produce a consensus on their validity. With other books on the subject either limited in scope or seriously outdated, Flood Frequency Analysis provides the ideal vehicle for practicing hydrologists and engineers to explore and apply the latest methods and research results, and in doing so, contribute to the advancement of the field.

    INTRODUCTION
    Hydrologic Frequency Analysis
    General Aspects and Approaches
    Other Models
    Return Period, Probability, and Plotting Positions
    Flood Frequency Models
    Hydrologic Risk
    Regionalization
    Tests on Hydrologic Data
    SELECTION AND EVALUATION OF PARENT DISTRIBUTION: CONVENTIONAL MOMENTS
    Moments of Distributions and Their Sample Estimates
    Moment Ratio Diagrams (MRDs)
    Probability Plots
    Selection of Distributions
    Regional Homogeneity and Regionalization
    SELECTION AND EVALUATION OF PARENT DISTRIBUTIONS: PROBABILITY WEIGHTED MOMENTS AND L-MOMENTS
    Moments of Distributions and Their Sample Estimates
    L-Moment Ratio Diagrams
    Goodness of Fit Tests
    A Case Study
    PARAMETER AND QUANTILE ESTIMATION
    Introduction
    Parameter Estimation
    Quantile Estimation
    Confidence Intervals
    NORMAL AND RELATED DISTRIBUTIONS
    Normal Distribution
    Two-Parameter Lognormal (LN(2)) Distribution
    Three-Parameter Lognormal (LM(3)) Distribution
    GAMMA FAMILY
    Exponential Distribution
    Two-Parameter Gamma (G(2)) Distribution
    Pearson (2) Distribution
    Log-Pearson (3) Distribution
    U.S. Water Resources Council Method (WRCM)
    EXTREME VALUE DISTRIBUTIONS
    Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) Distribution
    The Extreme Value Type (EV(1) Distribution
    Weibul Distribution
    WAKEBY FAMILY
    The 5-Parameter Wakeby Distribution (WAK(5))
    The 4-Parameter Wakeby Distribution (WAK(4))
    The Generalized Pareto Distribution
    LOGISTIC DISTRIBUTIONS
    Logistic Distribution
    Generalized Logistic Distribution
    COMPUTER PROGRAM
    Introduction
    Description of Program
    REFERENCES


    Biography

    Hamed, Khaled; Rao, A. Ramachandro.

    "Flood Frequency Analysis contains information from authentic highly regarded reference resources. A substantial number of tables related to flood frequency analysis are included and will enable the student to understand the data required for adequate analysis. Also presented is a good selection of figures illustrating solutions to flood frequency problems … It is a state-of-the-art presentation and is important as a source of graduate reference material."
    -Philip E. LaMoreaux, Editor-in-Chief, Environmental Geology, November 2001