International compilation of peak discharge estimates of floods and runoff-generated debris flows, 1931-2023

This data release contains an international compilation of 656 peak discharge estimates of floods and runoff-generated debris flows. The data (“DimensionlessDischarge.csv” and “CrossSections.csv”) were obtained from the literature and measured in the study Cavagnaro and others (2024). The dataset also includes information about flow depth, flow type (flood or debris flow), flow cross-sectional area, drainage area, triggering rainfall intensity, and measured or estimated flow velocity. Discharge estimates made in a drainage recently burned by wildfire are distinguished from events in unburned areas. Events with less reliable information on rainfall intensity and/or flow type are distinguished from events with reliable information. Estimates of peak discharge are divided by the product of drainage area and rainfall intensity to provide a diagnostic criteria of flow type called the dimensionless discharge (Q*). Values of Q* less than 1 are expected to be water-dominated flows (floods), whereas values of Q* greater than 1 are expected to be debris flows. The “README.txt” file describes the fields for all of the datasets. Fields with a value of “-9999” indicate that the data are not available or do not exist. The “ProcessSteps.txt” file outlines how the data were collected. Additional details and analysis of this dataset are provided in Cavagnaro and others (2024). References for data sources that are cited in the “DataSource” field in “DimensionlessDischarge.csv” can be found in the “ProcessSteps.txt.”

Cavagnaro, D.B., McCoy, S.W., Kean, J.W., Thomas, M.A., Lindsay, D.N., McArdell, B.W., and Hirshberg, J., 2024, A robust quantitative method to distinguish runoff-generated debris flows from floods. Geophysical Research Letters.