[EN]: This paper is focused on the combination of historical, palaeoflood and instrumental records applied to estimate magnitude and frequency of floods in a high-gradient, small catchment in the Spanish Central Pyrenees: the Montardit basin, 15,2 km2. Historical data corresponding to past floods occurring in the Montardit drainage basin during the 20th Century were compiled through interviews with inhabitants of villages located in the basin. The largest floods of the stream were recorded in November 1907, in August 1924 and in 1944. The results of the methods applied in this study suggest that for high-frequency, low-magnitude events there is a good correlation between peak discharges yielded by palaeoflood reconstruction (7 to 46 m3 s-1) and those estimated through rainfall-runoff modelling (8 to 46 m3 s-1). In contrast, high magnitude events show a higher historical frequency than that provided by rainfallrunoff methods.

[ES]: En este estudio se analiza la magnitud y frecuencia de las crecidas en una pequeña cuenca (15,2 Km2) de los Pirineos Centrales españoles (cuenca de Montardit) mediante el uso combinado de diferentes métodos basados en evidencias geológicas, históricas y datos instrumentales. De acuerdo con los datos históricos las mayores crecidas registradas en la cuenca durante el siglo XX se produjeron en 1907, 1924 y 1944. Los caudales estimados m e d i a n t e técnicas de reconstrucción de paleocrecidas (7 a 46 m3 s- 1) y métodos hidrometeorológicos (8 a 46 m3 s- 1) son similares para eventos considerados de elevada frecuencia y baja magnitud. Por el contrario, las crecidas de elevada magnitud muestran una frecuencia histórica mayor que la predicha por los métodos basados en modelos hidrometeorológicos .

Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME) y la Comisión Europea (DGXII) a través del proyecto EVG1-CT-1999-00010 (Systematic, Palaeoflood and Historical data for the improvEment of flood Risk Estimation “SPHERE” Project).

12 páginas, 6 figuras, 2 tablas.

Peer reviewed