Filling the Gaps in Biophysical Knowledge of Urban Ecosystems: Flooding Mitigation and Stormwater Retention
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
I have several suggestions for improvement, listed by line:
line 126: kmq?
line 126 & 127: are the numbers correct? more than 2 million citizens by 2030?
line 151 (Table 1): please indicate units
line 153 - 154: are there any sources for this statement?
line 162: 70 mm in which duration?
line 191: specify the literature
line 209: specify why 100 mm is used
line 236 - 240: same text as in line 218 - 223
line 253: what do the percentages in the legend for urban area indicate?
line 326 (Table 5): percentages would be easier to understand for the readers
Author Response
I have several suggestions for improvement, listed by line:
line 126: kmq?
Thank you for your observation, I changed with Km2
line 126 & 127: are the numbers correct? more than 2 million citizens by 2030?
Even though it’s odd, yes, Izmir’s metropolitan area is booming and Turkstat predictions are indicating this trend, which, in turn, is assumed as the baseline for the future strategic planning of the metropolitan area in 2030.
line 151 (Table 1): please indicate units
Thank you for your observation, I added (ha) in the title
line 153 - 154: are there any sources for this statement?
Thank you so much for your observation, I quoted this work: Ozkan, S.P.; Tarhan, C. Detection of Flood Hazard in Urban Areas Using GIS: Izmir Case. Procedia Technol. 2016, 22, 373–381, doi:10.1016/J.PROTCY.2016.01.026.
line 162: 70 mm in which duration?
Thank you for this observation. It refers to a “single rain event” which can last one hour (cloudburst) or one day (storm) but assuming the soil is in its saturated condition, in the equation of estimation, the drainage capacity is the same.
line 191: specify the literature
Thanks for this suggestion, I quoted the City of Copenhagen Cloudburst Management Plan 2012 2012, 1–28
line 209: specify why 100 mm is used
Thank you for this observation. The following sentence has been added: 100mm has been used according to the above-mentioned meteorological reports of MGM, while assuming as a reasonable prediction to expect rainfall volumes similar to the ones recorded between 2020 and 2021.
line 236 - 240: same text as in line 218 - 223
Thank you for this observation, I reported all data because the retention is calculated differently in the annual water balance. However, I deleted the repetition and changed the text according to your suggestion.
line 253: what do the percentages in the legend for urban area indicate?
Thank you for this observation, I changed the legend and the Figure caption (the percentages refer to the average quantity of impervious areas in the specific land use land code class)
line 326 (Table 5): percentages would be easier to understand for the readers
Many thanks for this observation, I changed table 5 accordingly.
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear Editor.
I have finished my review on the proposed paper “Filling the gaps in biophysical knowledge of Urban Ecosystems: Flooding Mitigation and Stormwater Retention”, land-2274296-peer-review-v1.
Summary of the manuscript:
In the proposed paper, the author’s goal is to quantify yearly and event based runoff using to hydrological models.
General review:
1. Generally, the manuscript presents an interesting topic and the specific research seems to include some significant points for the research community of this field.
2. The proposed paper is very well written with very good use of English language. Except some very minor grammatical mistakes and word errors. The author should check again the paper to correct these minor mistakes.
3. The proposed paper is very well structured. It begins with an analytical Introduction with the appropriate references that helps the reader to get into the subject immediately. In Introduction there is an effort to provide previous studies with similar scientific content, which took place in the research area and in other countries. Author describes and set very well the scientific problem and how other researchers have approached. At the end of Introduction, authors clearly state the goals of the research.
4. The methodology is generally very interesting. However, need some clarifications (see below comments).
5. The results and the discussion are generally OK.
Additional points for revision:
In my opinion, the proposed paper could be characterized as a very good research work, complies with aims of LAND.
lines 161-170: Please, for each event give the duration, like line 167 (in Konak).
lines 236-241: This paragraph is exactly the same with the lines 218-223. Remove it.
Line 30: Please, here add a phrase like below, adding the proposed literature: "Recents studies showed that in Mediterranean region the temperature and the intense rainfall events may be increased in the future, leading to more frequent flash floods (doi.org/10.3390/f13060879, doi.org/10.3390/su142013380, doi.org/10.3390/w14162499).
Figure 1: Please, add the points of the meteorological stations. And some cities, for example Izmir, Guzelbahce and Konak.
Lines 596-600: Indeed, the absence of field measurements is a very strong limitation. The validation of a hydrological model against field data is very crucial for hydrological studies. I wonder, there is no possibility to validate the model in smaller areas of the study area?
Author Response
Thank you so much for your positive observations (Point 1 to 5).
Additional points for revision:
In my opinion, the proposed paper could be characterized as a very good research work, complies with aims of LAND.
lines 161-170: Please, for each event give the duration, like line 167 (in Konak).
Thank you for your comment, I modified it accordingly.
lines 236-241: This paragraph is exactly the same with the lines 218-223. Remove it.
Thank you for this observation, I reported all data because the retention is calculated differently in the annual water balance. However, I deleted the repetition and changed the text according to your suggestion.
Line 30: Please, here add a phrase like below, adding the proposed literature: "Recents studies showed that in Mediterranean region the temperature and the intense rainfall events may be increased in the future, leading to more frequent flash floods (doi.org/10.3390/f13060879, doi.org/10.3390/su142013380, doi.org/10.3390/w14162499).
Thank you so much for your detailed suggestion. I added the sentence and the references.
Figure 1: Please, add the points of the meteorological stations. And some cities, for example Izmir, Guzelbahce and Konak.
Thank you so much for your suggestion. I added all the fixed meteorological stations.
Lines 596-600: Indeed, the absence of field measurements is a very strong limitation. The validation of a hydrological model against field data is very crucial for hydrological studies. I wonder, there is no possibility to validate the model in smaller areas of the study area?
Thank you for this observation/question. Unfortunately, that’s an aspect I am trying to cope with. I am working to sign a protocol with IZSU to have some field data on specific locations. Besides, we organized a Summer School in Izmir to work on field validation of modeling… I want to improve the reliability of modeling by field measures soon.
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear author.
Thank you for the provided responses. I read very careful the revised paper and I think that has significantly improved. The author responded to all my suggestions and comments. I have some minor comments to be added. In line 36 (revised version) please add (with 9-11 references) the following studies that deal with GIS and flood areas (doi:10.3390/ijgi9120725 and doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.12.009). Also, you have to make a last check to the text to find minor mistakes. Finally, you have made a lot of corrections. Be sure that every change is correct and in accordance with MDPI instructions for authors.
Author Response
Thank you so much for your detailed comments. I added the new references, double-checked the text, and corrected other minor mistakes, also considering any discordance with the journal’s guidelines.
As for the modeling algorithm of runoff calculation, I intentionally left the form a bullet point (list) of variables instead of putting the math formula. I did this to communicate the method easier while opening the contribution to a broader audience.
