Flood Water Surface Profiles for North Esk and Tamar Rivers

Aggregating flood water surface profiles for the North Esk and Tamar rivers in Launceston, Australia, derived from hydrological studies. It includes profiles for 100-year and 200-year Average Recurrence Interval (ARI) events, with discharges calibrated to historical floods from 2005 and 2011. The data is intended for planning purposes.

Use Cases

• Model flood inundation extents using the 100-year ARI profile with current sea level conditions for urban planning.
• Assess climate change impacts by comparing the standard 100-year ARI profile with the profile incorporating an 800mm sea level rise.
• Analyze flood discharge relationships by cross-referencing North Esk discharges from UNSW WRL 2006 with South Esk discharges from Hydro Consulting 2008.
• Calibrate hydraulic models using the dataset's calibration to the 470 cumecs flood peak from August 2005 and the 251 cumecs peak from June 2011.

Strengths

• Profiles are calibrated to two specific historical flood events (August 2005 and June 2011), providing empirical validation.
• Includes multiple scenario analyses such as a 100-year ARI, a 100-year ARI with 800mm sea level rise, and a 200-year ARI profile.
• Hydrological data is sourced from specific studies by the University of New South Wales Water Research Laboratory (2006) and Hydro Consulting (2008).

Limitations

• The spatial coverage is limited to the North Esk River from Black Bridge to Corra Linn and its junction with the Tamar River.
• The adopted tail-water level is a fixed value (2.1 m AHD) for all discharges, which may not capture dynamic tidal or weather variations.
• The dataset's primary use is for planning; it may not contain the granular temporal or cross-sectional data needed for real-time flood forecasting.

Provenance

Source

City of Launceston Open Data, authored by lccspatial.

Collection Method

Derived from hydrological modeling studies by the University of New South Wales Water Research Laboratory and Hydro Consulting.

Time Range

Hydrological studies from 2006 and 2008; model calibration includes events from 2005 and 2011.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-20.

Geography

North Esk River from Black Bridge to Corra Linn and the Tamar River junction in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.