Technical Note: Flood frequency study using partial duration series coupled with entropy principle

Quality discharge measurements and frequency analysis are two major prerequisites for defining a design flood. Flood frequency analysis (FFA) utilizes a comprehensive understanding of the probabilistic behavior of extreme events but has certain limitations regarding the sampling method and choice of distribution models. Entropy as a modern-day tool has found several applications in FFA, mainly in the derivation of probability distributions and their parameter estimation as per the principle of maximum entropy (POME) theory. The present study explores a new dimension to this area of research, where POME theory is applied in the partial duration series (PDS) modeling of FFA to locate the optimum threshold and the respective distribution models. The proposed methodology is applied to the Waimakariri River at the Old Highway Bridge site in New Zealand, as it has one of the best quality discharge data. The catchment also has a history of significant flood events in the last few decades. The degree of fitness of models to the exceedances is compared with the standardized statistical approach followed in literature. Also, the threshold estimated from this study is matched with some previous findings. Various return period quantiles are calculated, and their predictive ability is tested by bootstrap sampling. An overall analysis of results shows that entropy can be also be used as an effective tool for threshold identification in PDS modeling of flood frequency studies.