Empirical statistical characterization and regionalization of amplitude–duration–frequency curves for extreme peak flows in the Lake Victoria Basin, East Africa

Abstract

This paper focuses on a regionalization attempt to partly solve data limitation problems in statistical analysis of high flows to derive discharge–duration–frequency (QDF) relationships. The analysis is based on 24 selected catchments in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) in East Africa. Characteristics of the theoretical QDF relationships were parameterized to capture their slopes of extreme value distributions (evd), tail behaviour and scaling measures. To enable QDF estimates to be obtained for ungauged catchments, interdependence relationships between the QDF parameters were identified, and regional regression models were developed to explain the regional difference in these parameters from physiographic characteristics. In validation of the regression models, from the lowest (5 years) to the highest (25 years) return periods considered, the percentage bias in the QDF estimates ranged from –2% for the 5-year return period to 27% for 25-year return period.