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).