scholarly journals Hurricane Gustav (2008) Waves and Storm Surge: Hindcast, Synoptic Analysis, and Validation in Southern Louisiana

2011 ◽  
Vol 139 (8) ◽  
pp. 2488-2522 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Dietrich ◽  
J. J. Westerink ◽  
A. B. Kennedy ◽  
J. M. Smith ◽  
R. E. Jensen ◽  
...  

AbstractHurricane Gustav (2008) made landfall in southern Louisiana on 1 September 2008 with its eye never closer than 75 km to New Orleans, but its waves and storm surge threatened to flood the city. Easterly tropical-storm-strength winds impacted the region east of the Mississippi River for 12–15 h, allowing for early surge to develop up to 3.5 m there and enter the river and the city’s navigation canals. During landfall, winds shifted from easterly to southerly, resulting in late surge development and propagation over more than 70 km of marshes on the river’s west bank, over more than 40 km of Caernarvon marsh on the east bank, and into Lake Pontchartrain to the north. Wind waves with estimated significant heights of 15 m developed in the deep Gulf of Mexico but were reduced in size once they reached the continental shelf. The barrier islands further dissipated the waves, and locally generated seas existed behind these effective breaking zones.The hardening and innovative deployment of gauges since Hurricane Katrina (2005) resulted in a wealth of measured data for Gustav. A total of 39 wind wave time histories, 362 water level time histories, and 82 high water marks were available to describe the event. Computational models—including a structured-mesh deepwater wave model (WAM) and a nearshore steady-state wave (STWAVE) model, as well as an unstructured-mesh “simulating waves nearshore” (SWAN) wave model and an advanced circulation (ADCIRC) model—resolve the region with unprecedented levels of detail, with an unstructured mesh spacing of 100–200 m in the wave-breaking zones and 20–50 m in the small-scale channels. Data-assimilated winds were applied using NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division Wind Analysis System (H*Wind) and Interactive Objective Kinematic Analysis (IOKA) procedures. Wave and surge computations from these models are validated comprehensively at the measurement locations ranging from the deep Gulf of Mexico and along the coast to the rivers and floodplains of southern Louisiana and are described and quantified within the context of the evolution of the storm.

2010 ◽  
Vol 138 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Bunya ◽  
J. C. Dietrich ◽  
J. J. Westerink ◽  
B. A. Ebersole ◽  
J. M. Smith ◽  
...  

Abstract A coupled system of wind, wind wave, and coastal circulation models has been implemented for southern Louisiana and Mississippi to simulate riverine flows, tides, wind waves, and hurricane storm surge in the region. The system combines the NOAA Hurricane Research Division Wind Analysis System (H*WIND) and the Interactive Objective Kinematic Analysis (IOKA) kinematic wind analyses, the Wave Model (WAM) offshore and Steady-State Irregular Wave (STWAVE) nearshore wind wave models, and the Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) basin to channel-scale unstructured grid circulation model. The system emphasizes a high-resolution (down to 50 m) representation of the geometry, bathymetry, and topography; nonlinear coupling of all processes including wind wave radiation stress-induced set up; and objective specification of frictional parameters based on land-cover databases and commonly used parameters. Riverine flows and tides are validated for no storm conditions, while winds, wind waves, hydrographs, and high water marks are validated for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.


2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 3625-3658 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. Bilskie ◽  
S. C. Hagen ◽  
S. C. Medeiros ◽  
A. T. Cox ◽  
M. Salisbury ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Qin Chen ◽  
Ling Zhu ◽  
Fengyan Shi ◽  
Steve Brandt

Coastal wetlands protect the shoreline and infrastructure by attenuating wind waves and reducing storm surge. It is of importance to accurately quantify the flood protection provided by vegetation. Existing numerical models for hurricane waves and storm surge are based on the phase-averaged wave action balance equation and the nonlinear shallow water equations, respectively, with the wind forcing and vegetal drag as the free surface and bottom boundary conditions. To consider the interaction of waves and surge, the phase-averaged short wave and long wave (storm surge) models can be coupled in a staggered fashion. If the time step of the wave model and storm surge model are 30 minutes and 1 s, respectively, both models would exchange information every 30 minutes. There is no iteration between the wave and surge models at each coupling interval. An alternative to this state-of-the-practice of hurricane wave and storm surge modeling is to simulate the combined wave and surge motion driven by wind and attenuated by wetland vegetation using a phase-resolving Boussinesq model. The objective of this study is threefold: 1) to demonstrate the capability of modeling wave growth by wind, wave reduction by vegetation, and the total water level (wave setup, wind setup and wave runup) using the extended FUNWAVE-TVD model; 2) to analyze the energy balance of the combined wave and surge motion; 3) to examine the momentum balance with an emphasis on the vegetal drag owing to the combined wave orbital velocity and wind-driven current velocity.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/-o_kx4hPvC8


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2399-2410 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Vatvani ◽  
N. C. Zweers ◽  
M. van Ormondt ◽  
A. J. Smale ◽  
H. de Vries ◽  
...  

Abstract. To simulate winds and water levels, numerical weather prediction (NWP) and storm surge models generally use the traditional bulk relation for wind stress, which is characterized by a wind drag coefficient. A still commonly used drag coefficient in those models, some of them were developed in the past, is based on a relation, according to which the magnitude of the coefficient is either constant or increases monotonically with increasing surface wind speed (Bender, 2007; Kim et al., 2008; Kohno and Higaki, 2006). The NWP and surge models are often tuned independently from each other in order to obtain good results. Observations have indicated that the magnitude of the drag coefficient levels off at a wind speed of about 30 m s−1, and then decreases with further increase of the wind speed. Above a wind speed of approximately 30 m s−1, the stress above the air-sea interface starts to saturate. To represent the reducing and levelling off of the drag coefficient, the original Charnock drag formulation has been extended with a correction term. In line with the above, the Delft3D storm surge model is tested using both Charnock's and improved Makin's wind drag parameterization to evaluate the improvements on the storm surge model results, with and without inclusion of the wave effects. The effect of waves on storm surge is included by simultaneously simulating waves with the SWAN model on identical model grids in a coupled mode. However, the results presented here will focus on the storm surge results that include the wave effects. The runs were carried out in the Gulf of Mexico for Katrina and Ivan hurricane events. The storm surge model was initially forced with H*wind data (Powell et al., 2010) to test the effect of the Makin's wind drag parameterization on the storm surge model separately. The computed wind, water levels and waves are subsequently compared with observation data. Based on the good results obtained, we conclude that, for a good reproduction of the storm surges under hurricane conditions, Makin's new drag parameterization is favourable above the traditional Charnock relation. Furthermore, we are encouraged by these results to continue the studies and establish the effect of improved Makin's wind drag parameterization in the wave model. The results from this study will be used to evaluate the relevance of extending the present towards implementation of a similar wind drag parameterization in the SWAN wave model, in line with our aim to apply a consistent wind drag formulation throughout the entire storm surge modelling approach.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2293
Author(s):  
Marina Amadori ◽  
Virginia Zamparelli ◽  
Giacomo De Carolis ◽  
Gianfranco Fornaro ◽  
Marco Toffolon ◽  
...  

The SAR Doppler frequencies are directly related to the motion of the scatterers in the illuminated area and have already been used in marine applications to monitor moving water surfaces. Here we investigate the possibility of retrieving surface water velocity from SAR Doppler analysis in medium-size lakes. ENVISAT images of the test site (Lake Garda) are processed and the Doppler Centroid Anomaly technique is adopted. The resulting surface velocity maps are compared with the outputs of a hydrodynamic model specifically validated for the case study. Thermal images from MODIS Terra are used in support of the modeling results. The surface velocity retrieved from SAR is found to overestimate the numerical results and the existence of a bias is investigated. In marine applications, such bias is traditionally removed through Geophysical Model Functions (GMFs) by ascribing it to a fully developed wind waves spectrum. We found that such an assumption is not supported in our case study, due to the small-scale variations of topography and wind. The role of wind intensity and duration on the results from SAR is evaluated, and the inclusion of lake bathymetry and the SAR backscatter gradient is recommended for the future development of GMFs suitable for lake environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 2462
Author(s):  
Stanislav A. Ermakov ◽  
Irina A. Sergievskaya ◽  
Ivan A. Kapustin

Strong variability of Ka-band radar backscattering from short wind waves on the surface of water covered with surfactant films in the presence of internal waves (IW) was studied in wave tank experiments. It has been demonstrated that modulation of Ka-band radar return due to IW strongly depends on the relationship between the phase velocity of IW and the velocity of drifting surfactant films. An effect of the strong increase in surfactant concentration was revealed in convergent zones, associated with IW orbital velocities in the presence of a “resonance” surface steady current, the velocity of which was close to the IW phase velocity. A phenomenological model of suppression and modulations in the spectrum of small-scale wind waves due to films and IW was elaborated. It has been shown that backscatter modulation could not be explained by the modulation of free (linear) millimeter-scale Bragg waves, but was associated with the modulation of bound (parasitic) capillary ripples generated by longer, cm–dm-scale waves—a “cascade” modulation mechanism. Theoretical analysis based on the developed model was found to be consistent with experiments. Field observations which qualitatively illustrated the effect of strong modulation of Ka-band radar backscatter due to IW in the presence of resonance drift of surfactant films are presented.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. V. Divinsky ◽  
R. D. Kosyan ◽  
◽  

Purpose. The paper is aimed at studying the morphodynamic features of the Bakalskaya Spit evolution being influenced by the sea wind waves and swell, namely assessment of inter-annual variations in the alluvial (erosion) areas of the Bakalskaya Spit coastline, analysis of inter-annual variability of the wind wave parameters, determination of the surface wave characteristics (or a combination of a few ones) responsible for the processes of the bottom material erosion or accumulation in the coastal zone. Methods and Results. Based on the analysis of satellite images for 1984–2016, the areas of the bottom material accumulation or erosion of the Bakalskaya Spit coastline were determined. Application of the spectral wave model permitted to obtain time series of the main parameters of wind waves and swell (significant wave heights and propagation directions) in the Bakalskaya Spit coastal zone with the 1 hr time resolution for the period from 1984 to 2016. The characteristics of surface waves responsible for the coastline deformation were revealed using the discriminant analysis. Conclusions. Analysis of satellite images of the spit made it possible to distinguish three periods in the history of the Bakalskaya Spit evolution: 1985–1997, 1998–2007 and 2007–2016. The first period was characterized by relative stability. The strongest erosion took place in 1998; after that the alluvial and erosion cases alternated for 10 years weakly tending to general erosion that constituted the second period. The third one that began in 2007 can be defined as the period of spit degradation accompanied by the irreversible loss of beach material. The basic parameters conditioning hydrodynamics of the Bakalskaya Spit water area are: total duration of storms; average and maximum values of significant heights of wind waves and swell. Statistical characteristics of the wind waves’ parameters are of a fairly strong inter-annual variability. According to the average and maximum indices, the wind waves directed close to the normal to the coastline (WSW and WNW) are the most developed. The applied discriminant analysis permitted to draw a statistically reliable conclusion that the direction of the final (average annual) wave impact on the coastal zone, conditioning the processes of sand accumulation or erosion was set by the waves directed to NNW, at that the swell contribution was dominant. The impact degree is conditioned by strong storms with the directions close to the normal to the coastline, namely, the WSW ones


2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Howden ◽  
David Gilhousen ◽  
Norman Guinasso ◽  
John Walpert ◽  
Michael Sturgeon ◽  
...  

Abstract The eye of Hurricane Katrina passed within 49 n mi of an oceanographic observing system buoy in the Mississippi Bight that is part of the Central Gulf of Mexico Ocean Observing System. Although a mechanical anemometer failed on the buoy during the hurricane, a two-axis sonic anemometer survived and provided a complete record of the hurricane’s passage. This is the first reported case of a sonic anemometer surviving a hurricane and reporting validated data, and it demonstrates that this type of anemometer is a viable alternative to the mechanical anemometers traditionally used in marine applications. The buoy pitch and roll record during the storm show the importance of compensating the anemometer records for winds oblique to the horizontal plane of the anemometers. This is made apparent in the comparison between the two wind records from the anemometers during the hurricane.


2008 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 833-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joannes J. Westerink ◽  
Richard A. Luettich ◽  
Jesse C. Feyen ◽  
John H. Atkinson ◽  
Clint Dawson ◽  
...  

Abstract Southern Louisiana is characterized by low-lying topography and an extensive network of sounds, bays, marshes, lakes, rivers, and inlets that permit widespread inundation during hurricanes. A basin- to channel-scale implementation of the Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) unstructured grid hydrodynamic model has been developed that accurately simulates hurricane storm surge, tides, and river flow in this complex region. This is accomplished by defining a domain and computational resolution appropriate for the relevant processes, specifying realistic boundary conditions, and implementing accurate, robust, and highly parallel unstructured grid numerical algorithms. The model domain incorporates the western North Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea so that interactions between basins and the shelf are explicitly modeled and the boundary condition specification of tidal and hurricane processes can be readily defined at the deep water open boundary. The unstructured grid enables highly refined resolution of the complex overland region for modeling localized scales of flow while minimizing computational cost. Kinematic data assimilative or validated dynamic-modeled wind fields provide the hurricane wind and pressure field forcing. Wind fields are modified to incorporate directional boundary layer changes due to overland increases in surface roughness, reduction in effective land roughness due to inundation, and sheltering due to forested canopies. Validation of the model is achieved through hindcasts of Hurricanes Betsy and Andrew. A model skill assessment indicates that the computed peak storm surge height has a mean absolute error of 0.30 m.


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