On the statistical attribution of the frequency of flood events across the U.S. Midwest
The frequency of flood events has increased across most of the U.S. Midwest in the past 50–70 years; however, little is known about what is driving these changes. Using an observation-driven approach, we develop a statistical framework to attribute the changes in the frequency of flood peak events to changes in the climate system and to land use / land cover. We focus on 287 U.S. Geological Survey sites with at least 50 years of daily discharge measurements between the second half of the 20th century and the present.