Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Storm surge simulation along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts using a multi-scale numerical model approach

  • Published:
Ocean Dynamics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The effectiveness of simulating surge inundation using the Eulerian–Lagrangian circulation (ELCIRC) model over multi-scale unstructured grids was examined in this study. The large domain model grid encompasses the western North Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea to appropriately account for remote and resonance effects during hurricane events and simplify the specification of the open boundary condition. The U.S. East and Gulf Coasts were divided into 12 overlapping basins with fine-resolution (up to 30 × 30 m) grids to model overland surge flooding. These overlapping basins have different fine-resolution grids near the coastal region, but have an identical coarse-resolution grid in the offshore region within the large model domain. Thus, the storm surge prediction can be conducted without reducing computation efficiency by executing multiple model runs with local fine-resolution grids where potential hurricane landfalls may occur. The capability of the multi-scale approach was examined by simulating storm surge caused by Hurricanes Andrew (1992) and Isabel (2003) along the South Florida coast and in the Chesapeake Bay. Comparisons between simulated and observed results suggest that multi-scale models proficiently simulated storm surges in the Biscayne Bay and the Chesapeake Bay during two hurricanes. A series of sensitivity tests demonstrated that the simulation of surge flooding was improved when LiDAR topographic data and special bottom drag coefficient values for mangrove forests were employed. The tests also showed that appropriate representation of linear hydrologic features is important for computing surge inundation in an urban area.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18
Fig. 19

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aldridge JN, Davies AM (1993) A high resolution three-dimensional hydrographic tidal model of the eastern Irish Sea. J Phys Oceanogr 23:207–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernier NB, Thompson KR (2006) Predicting the frequency of storm surges and extreme sea levels in the northwest Atlantic. Journal of Geophysical Research, 111, C100009, doi:10.1029/2005JC003168.

  • Blain CA, Westerink JJ, Luettich RA (1994) The influence of domain size on the response characteristics of a hurricane storm surge model. J Geophys Res 99(C9):18,467–18,497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blain CA, Westerink JJ, Luettich RA (1998) Grid convergence studies for the prediction of hurricane storm surge. Int J Numer Methods Fluids 26:369–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boon J (2004) Secrets of the Tide. Horwood Publishing Limited, Chichester (212p)

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown J, Wolf J (2009) Coupled wave and surge modeling for the eastern Irish Sea and implications for model wind-stress. Cont Shelf Res 29:1,329–1,342

    Google Scholar 

  • Casulli V (1999) A semi-implicit numerical method for non-hydrostatic free surface flows on unstructured grid. Proceeding of International Workshop on Numerical Modeling of Hydrodynamic System (Zaragoza, Spain): 175–193.

  • Casulli V, Zanolli P (1998) A three-dimensional semi-implicit algorithm for environmental flows on unstructured grids. Proceedings of Conference on Numerical Methods for Fluid Dynamics, University of Oxford.

  • Cho K (2009) A numerical modeling study on barotropic and baroclinic responses of the Chesapeake Bay to hurricane events. PhD Dissertation, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary.

  • Chow VT (1959) Open channel hydraulics. McGraw-Hill Book Co, NY, 680pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Das S, Vincent JR (2009) Mangroves protected villages and reduced death toll during Indian super cyclone, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106 (18): 7357–7360.

  • Davies AM, Hall P (2002) Numerical problems associated with coupling models in shelf edge regions. Appl Math Model 26:807–831

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies AM, Jones JE (1992) A three-dimensional wind driven circulation model of the Celtic and Irish Seas. Cont Shelf Res 12:159–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies AM, Jones JE (1996) Sensitivity of tidal bed stress distributions, near bed currents, overtides and tidal residuals to frictional effects in the eastern Irish Sea. J Phys Oceanogr 26:2,553–2,575

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies AM, Lawrence J (1995) Modelling the effect of wave-current interaction on the three-dimensional wind driven circulation of the eastern Irish Sea. J Phys Oceanogr 25:29–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies AM, Kwong SC, Flather RA (2000) On determining the role of wind wave turbulence and grid resolution upon computed storm driven currents. Cont Shelf Res 20:1,825–1,888

    Google Scholar 

  • Deleersnijder E, Lermusiaux P (2008) Multi-scale modeling: nested-grid and unstructured-mesh approaches. Ocean Dyn 58:335–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flather RA (1994) A storm-surge prediction model for the northern Bay of Bengal with application to cyclone disaster in April 1991. J Phys Oceanogr 24:172–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flather RA, Proctor R (1983) Prediction of North Sea storm surge using numerical models: recent developments in the U.K. In: Sundermann J, Lenz W (eds) North Sea Dynamics. Berlin, Springer, pp 299–317

    Google Scholar 

  • Flather RA, Proctor R, Wolp J (1991) Oceanographic forecast models. In: Farmer DJ, Rycroft MJ (eds) Computer Modelling in the Environmental Science. Clarendon, Oxford, pp 15–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Garratt J (1977) Review of drag coefficients over oceans and continents. Mon Weather Rev 105:915–929

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glahn B, Taylor A, Kurkowski N, Shaffer W (2009) The role of the SLOSH model in national weather service storm surge forecasting. Natl Weather Dig 33(1):3–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Gong W, Shen J, Reay WG (2007) The hydrodynamic response of the York River estuary to Tropical Cyclone Isabel, 2003. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 73:695–710

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gong W, Shen J, Cho KH, Wang H (2009) A numerical model study of barotropic subtidal water exchange between estuary and subestuaries (tributaries) in the Chesapeake Bay during northeaster events. Ocean Model 26(3–4):170–189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green J (2005) Modeling flow resistance in vegetated streams: review and development of new theory. Hydrol Process 19:1245–1259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ham D, Pain C, Hanert E, Pietrzak J, Schröter J (2009) Special Issue: The sixth international workshop on unstructured mesh numerical modelling of coastal, shelf and ocean flows. Imperial College London, September 19-21, 2007. Ocean Model 28(1–3):19–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Heaps NS (1983) Storm surges, 1967–1982. Geophys J R Astron Soc 74:331–376

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmeister E (1974) Land from the sea. Miami. Florida, University of Miami Press, p 143

    Google Scholar 

  • Horsburgh KJ, Wilson C (2007) Tide–surge interaction and its role in the distribution of surge residuals in the North Sea. J Geophys Res 112:C08003. doi:10.1029/2006JC004033

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houston S, Shaffer W, Powell M, Chen J (1999) Comparisons of HRD and SLOSH surface wind fields in hurricanes: implications for storm surge and wave modeling. Weather Forecast 14:671–686

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jelesnianski CP (1967) Numerical computations of storm surge with bottom stress. Mon Weather Rev 95:740–756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jelesnianski CP, Chen J, Shaffer W (1992) SLOSH: Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricane. National Weather Service, Silver Springs, MD, (71p). (check fontsize)

  • Jones JE, Davies AM (1998) Storm surge computations for the Irish Sea using a three-dimensional numerical model including wave–current interaction. Cont Shelf Res 18:201–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones JE, Davies AM (2003) Processes influencing storm-induced currents in the Irish Sea. J Phys Oceanogr 33:88–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones JE, Davies AM (2007) Influence of non-linear effects upon surge elevations. Ocean Dyn 57:401–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones JE, Davies AM (2008) On the modification of tides in shallow water regions by wind effects. Journal of Geophysical Research, 113, doi:10.1029/2007JC004310.

  • Kagan BA, Alvarez O, Izquierdo A (2005) Weak wind-wave/tide interaction over fixed and moveable bottoms: a formulation and some preliminary results. Cont Shelf Res 25:753–773

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li M, Zhong L, Boicourt WC, Zhang S, Zhang DL (2006) Hurricane induced storm surges, currents and destratification in a semi-enclosed bay. Geophys Res Lett 33:L02604. doi:10.1029/2005GL024992

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loder N, Irish J, Cialone M, Wamsley T (2009) Sensitivity of hurricane surge to morphological parameters of coastal wetlands. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 84:625–636

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luettich RA Jr, Westerink J, Scheffner NW (1992) ADCIRC: An Advanced Three-Dimensional Circulation Model for Shelves, Coasts and Estuaries, Report 1: Theory and Methodology of ADCIRC-2DDI and ADCIRC-3DL", DRP Technical Report DRP-92-6, Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS., November, p 137

  • Mathew J, Mahadevan R, Bharatkumar B, Subramanian V (1996) Numerical simulation of open coast surges. Part I: experiments on offshore boundary conditions. J Coast Res 12:112–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattocks C, Forbes C (2008) A real-time, event-triggered storm surge forecasting system for the state of North Carolina. Ocean Model 25:95–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mukai A, Westerink J, Luettich R (2002) Guidelines for using the East Coast 2001 Database of tidal constitutes within western North Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. US Army Corps of Engineers. ERDC/CHL CHETN-IV-40, p 20

  • Myers V, Malkin W (1961) Some properties of hurricane wind fields as deduced from trajectories. National hurricane research project report, no. 49, NOAA, US Department of Commerce, p 43

  • Nepf H (1999) Drag, turbulence, and diffusion in flow through emergent vegetation. Water Research Resource 35(2):479–489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicolle A, Karpytchev M (2007) Evidence for spatially variable friction from tidal amplification and asymmetry in a shallow semi-diurnal embayment: the Pertuis Breton Bay of Biscay, France. Cont Shelf Res 27:2345–2356

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicolle A, Karpytchev M, Benoit M (2009) Amplification of the storm surges in shallow waters of the Pertuis Charentais (Bay of Biscay, France). Ocean Dyn 59:921–935

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peng M, Xie L, Pietrafesa L (2006) A numerical study on hurricane-induced storm surge and inundation in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. J Geophys Res 111:C08017. doi:10.1029/2004JC002755

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pietrzak J, Deleersnijder E, Schröter J (2005) Special issue: the second international workshop on unstructured mesh numerical modelling of coastal, shelf and ocean flows Delft, The Netherlands, September 23–25, 2003. Ocean Model 10(1–2):1–3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pietrzak J, Iskandarani M, Schröter J, Lyard F (2006) Special issue: the third international workshop on unstructured mesh numerical modelling of coastal, shelf and ocean flows Toulouse, France, September 20–22, 2004. Ocean Model 15(1–2):1–2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Proudman J (1957) Oscillations of tide and surge in an estuary of finite length. J Fluid Mech 2:371–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rego J, Li C (2010) Nonlinear terms in storm surge prediction: Effect of tide and shelf geometry with case study from Hurricane Rita. Journal of Geophysical Research doi:10.1029/2009JC005285, in press

  • Rossiter JR (1961) Interaction between tide and surge in the Thames. Geophys J R Astron Soc 6:29–53

    Google Scholar 

  • Shen J, Gong W (2009) Influence of model domain size, wind direction and Ekman transport in storm surge development inside the Chesapeake Bay: a case study if extratropical cyclone Ernesto, 2006. J Mar Syst 75:198–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen J, Gong W, Wang H (2006a) Water level response to 1999 Hurricane Floyd in the Chesapeake Bay. Cont Shelf Res 26:2484–2502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen J, Zhang K, Xiao C, Gong W (2006b) Improved prediction of storm surge inundation with a high-resolution unstructured grid mode. J Coast Res 22(6):1309–1319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen J, Wang H, Sisson M, Gong W (2006c) Storm tide simulation in the Chesapeake Bay using an unstructured grid model. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 68:1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen T (2009) Development of a Storm Surge Model Using a High-Resolution Unstructured Grid over a Large Domain. MS Thesis, The College of William and Mary. Gloucester Point VA 23062. p 279

  • Tsimplis MN, Proctor R, Flather RA (1995) A two-dimensional tidal model for the Mediterranean Sea. J Geophys Res 100(C8):16,223–16,239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisburg R, Zheng L (2008) Hurricane storm surge simulations: comparisons three-dimensional with two-dimensional formulations based on an Ivan-like storm surge over the Tampa Bay, Florida region. Journal of Geophysical Research 113 (C12001): doi:10.1029/2008JC005115.

  • Westerink J, Luettich R, Muccino J (1994) Modeling tides in the western North Atlantic using unstructured graded grids. Tellus 46A:178–199

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitman D, Zhang K, Leatherman SP, and Robertson W (2003) An airborne laser topographic mapping application to hurricane storm surge hazard. In G. Heiken, R. Fakundiny, and J. Sutter (editors), Earth Science in the Cities p 363-376.

  • Xie L, Liu H, Peng M (2008) The effect of wave-current interactions on the storm surge and inundation in Charleston Harbor during Hurricane Hugo 1989. Ocean Model 20:252–269

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang K (2010) Analysis of non-linear inundation from sea-level rise using LIDAR data: a case study for South Florida. Climatic Change, in press.

  • Zhang K, Xiao C, Shen J (2008) Comparison of the CEST and SLOSH models for storm surge flooding. J Coast Res 24(2):489–499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Baptista A, Myers E (2004) A cross-scale model for 3D baroclinic circulation in estuary-plume-shelf systems: I. Formulation and skill assessment. Cont Shelf Res 24:2187–2214

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the Florida Hurricane Alliance Research Project sponsored by NOAA. We thank Mr. Mac Sisson of VIMS and three anonymous reviewers for reviewing the manuscript and providing valuable comments. We also thank Dr. Joseph Zhang of the Center for Coastal Margin Observation & Prediction at Oregon Health and Science University for supporting our numerical modeling.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Hurricane Research Center, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Hongzhou Xu, Keqi Zhang & Yuepeng Li

  2. Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Keqi Zhang

  3. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, VA, 23062, USA

    Jian Shen

Authors
  1. Hongzhou Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Keqi Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jian Shen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yuepeng Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Keqi Zhang.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Eric Deleersnijder

This paper was submitted to Ocean Dynamics' special issue on multi-scale modeling of coastal, shelf, and global ocean dynamics (code: MSM 2010).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Xu, H., Zhang, K., Shen, J. et al. Storm surge simulation along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts using a multi-scale numerical model approach. Ocean Dynamics 60, 1597–1619 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-010-0321-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-010-0321-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation