Flood Risk Uncertainty

This website is dedicated to the collection and dissemination of research related to uncertainty in flood risk analysis.

Background

The SBW-programme (Strength and Loading of Water Defences, in Dutch 'Sterkte en Belastingen van Waterkeringen') focuses on filling the most important knowledge gaps in order to be able to assess primary water defences. Information about uncertainties within the flood protection assessment procedure is very valuable for prioritising the research within the SBW-programme. Uncertainty research therefore contributes to efficient choices of areas to focus on. That is why for decades uncertainty research has been carried out, both qualitative and quantitative.

It is important that this continually increasing knowledge, which is stored in a growing number of reports, be accessible and available for all parties involved in the development of the assessment procedure for 2011 and for future assessments. 

This wiki site and a corresponding library have been developed within the framework of the SBW-programme. This wiki site describes the background, structure and general contents of the library. The wiki site does not store any documents itself, rather those are stored in a library. The library is built using the open source software Zotero, a highly esteemed reference manager plug-in for the browser Firefox which allows collaborative addition and management of documents through the use of 'group libraries'.

Advantages of a community library

The community library has many benefits. The first of these is to collect in one central location all information relevant to uncertainty in the safety assessment of defences. This provides to the user a bibliography of what has already been done. This ensures that past research remains visible and accessible, which reduces the chance of duplication of already-completed work, and encourages research to be built upon the foundation of what has already been accomplished. This bibliography is particularly useful in studies aiming to provide an overview of uncertainties within the entire assessment process, because individual detailed studies on uncertainty will be available in one central location.

Another substantial benefit comes through the reference management capabilities of Zotero. An additional plug-in for Microsoft Word (as well as open source alternatives) makes reference management incredibly simple, literally as simple as the push of a button, which can save much time and effort in the preparation of future papers and reports.

Where is the library?

The library is not located on this website. Instructions to access the library are given in the "Access the Library" tab on this website (Accessing the Library).  

Description of the Library

The group library is maintained using Zotero, a highly-esteemed open-source reference manager plug-in for the browser Firefox. The library consists of reoprts, papers, books and website links that focus on uncertainty related to flood risk.

Structure of the Library

The figure below shows a snapshot of the library structure.

The library's main folder is entitled Flood Risk Uncertainty, and has a structure which is based on uncertainty in the following main categories:

1. Safety assessment
2. Consequences
3. Operational forecasting

Initially, only the first category will be populated with documents, since this is the aspect related to the SBW-programme. The structure includes additional flood risk uncertainty topics such that expansion will be structurally feasible in the future. Reports and publications are all stored in the main folder Flood Risk Uncertainty; depending on applied keywords, they will also be visible in the following sub-category folders under the folder Safety Assessment (note that documents are not limited to one sub-category/keyword):

Loads (HBC)

Uncertainty analysis related to the hydraulic loads on flood protection works.

Flood Defences

Uncertainty analysis related to the flood defences (e.g. strength analysis of flood defences)

Inland

Uncertainties within the safety assessment can be dependent on the considered physical system. This section contains reports and publications related to uncertainty analysis for flood defences at inland water systems like rivers.

Coastal

Similar to the sub-category "Inland", this category covers the reports and publications related to uncertainty analysis for flood defences at coastal water systems.

Lakes

Large lakes are considered to be a separate water system. This sub-category covers reports and publications regarding uncertainty analysis for flood defences near lakes.

Model Uncertainty

Reports and publications containing information about the uncertainties resulting from applied physical or statistical models should be included in this sub-category.

Quantitative techniques

Reports and publications using quantitative uncertainty analysis are included in this sub-category.

Future scenarios

The specification of future scenarios (e.g. climate change or future policy scenarios) is often subject to uncertainties. Reports and publications related to the uncertainties within these future scenarios belong in this sub-category.

Instructions how to access the library

1. INSTALL ZOTERO

1.1. Download firefox

If you don't have firefox on your computer, you will need to download it. You can download the newest version here

1.2. Install the Zotero plug-in for firefox

The installation files can be found here

1.3. Optional: Install the Zotero plug-in for Microsoft Word

Installation instructions and download can be found here

2. JOIN THE LIBRARY

2.1. Navigate to the library website

[http://www.zotero.org/groups/flood_risk_uncertainty]

2.2. Register an account

2.3. Request to join the group

- Once you have a registered Zotero account, return to: Zotero group: Flood Risk Uncertainty

- Log in using your account settings obtained in step 2.2:

 
 
- Request to join the group by selecting "Join Group". Your request will be evaluated (which may take some time), after which you will have access to the library.
 

3. CONFIGURE ZOTERO

3.1. Activate Zotero

- Start Firefox and click on the Zotero activation button in the lower right corner of FireFox to activate Zotero.

3.2. Activating your account within the Zotero plugin

- Select actions -> settings (voorkeuren)

- Fill in your account name and password within Settings-> Synchronisation and click "OK"


 
- Synchronise your libraries, after which you will see the Flood Risk Uncertainty Library in the left panel:
 

4. BUG FIX FOR ADVANCED SEARCH

Zotero version 2.0.9 contains a bug: the advanced search does not allow for searching the group libraries, only private libraries. A bugfix for this problem is made available here. The file zotero.jar has been updated and should be downloaded:

• click here to download

Important: Make sure that when you save the file, you select the type "all files" and give the filename the extension ".jar". The default is to download it as type compressed (zipped) file, but this will not have the desired result.

The downloaded file should replace the one found in the following folder:

C:\Documents and Settings[user_name]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles[random_number].default\extensions\zotero@chnm.gmu.edu\chrome

Note: this updated version of zotero.jar is intended for use with zotero version 2.0.9. For details, and for other versions besides 2.0.9, pleae refer to

5. YOU ARE READY TO START USING THE LIBRARY

Searching the Library

The Zotero library offers multiple query options for searching through documents and publications:

• Keywords
• Quick search
• Advanced Search
• Sub-folders (not recommended)

Each of these will be described below. For more detailed information, see the Zotero search help here

Keywords

The preferred method for browsing/searching the library is the selection of keywords. The keyword list is automatically reduced to the keywords of the remaining items. One can further narrow the search by selecting additional keywords. The search results are shown in the main window.

Quick search and advanced search

Quick search and advanced search can be used to scan for words within all labels of the items (title, author, etc.). Results are shown in the main window.

Categories

The library can be searched on the main- and sub-categories by selecting items in the library tree. The main window will immediately show the items stored within the selected categories. NOTE: this form of searching is not recommended. This is because the folders are not automatically updated based on the keywords; that is, selection of a keyword does not ensure that the document will be visible in the sub-folder. That has to be done manually.

Uploading to the Library

Uploading of reports (or references to reports) can be achieved by selecting an appropriate (sub-) category within the category tree (note that all documents are by default stored primarily in the Flood Risk Uncertainty folder, other folders contain an image of the document) and then choosing:

• new item (new report or publication to be added to the library)
• new note (add a note to an existing item)
• new attachment (add an attachment such as a PDF of the report)

The latter two are only possible if an existing item is selected. More detail about how to bring documents into the Zotero library can be found here

The etiquette for adding an item is that at least the following fields are filled in the info sheet:

• Title
• Author
• Date
• Pages
• Language

Important

In addition to the info sheet, at least one main keyword (or tag) needs to be assigned. General tags are given in CAPITAL LETTERS and are based on the categories described in the library structure (see About the Library). The main keywords are as follows:

1. HBC
2. FLOOD DEFENCE
3. INLAND
4. COASTAL
5. LAKES
6. MODEL UNCERTAINTY
7. QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES
8. FUTURE SCENARIOS

Multiple general tags are allowed, and encouraged when relevant. In addition, some user-defined tags can be added, using lower case letters.