Wave and Storm Surge Modelling

В книге рассматриваются вопросы выбора обводов корпуса и внешней архитектуры корабля с позиций наилучшей штормовой мореходности и безопасности в сложных условиях плавания. Проектирование океанского корабля, являющегося сложным инженерным сооружением, требует всестороннего изучения множества технологических и эксплуатационных факторов. Совместное использование исторического опыта хорошей морской практики, аналитических и экспериментальных исследований позволило определить непротиворечивые подходы к оптимизации основных элементов формы корпуса и общекорабельной архитектуры, и согласовать принципиальные технические решения для достижения наилучшей мореходности некоторых классов кораблей и судов. Эти вопросы последовательно обсуждаются в книге в форме технико-исторического анализа мореходности, физико-геометрического представления о корабельном волнообразовании и взаимодействии корпуса с морским волнением, с последующей интерпретацией сравнительных экспериментов с опытовыми моделями гипотетических и перспективных проектов кораблей и судов. Комплексный подход к рассмотрению вопросов морского инженерного дела позволил дополнить настоящее исследование материалами о гидротехнических особенностях гаваней морских портов, а также о вовлечении творческой молодежи к освоению морских наук. Изложение материалов ведется в краткой форме, достаточной для повторения и проверки основных результатов расчетов и экспериментов. Книга представляет интерес для судоводителей, корабельных инженеров, студентов морских институтов и всех интересующихся историей флота, мореходностью корабля и вопросами проектирования формы корпуса и общекорабельной архитектуры. Проектирование океанского корабля, являющегося сложным инженерным сооружением, требует всестороннего изучения множества технологических и эксплуатационных факторов. Совместное использование исторического опыта хорошей морской практики, аналитических и экспериментальных наук в области корабельной гидромеханики, позволило лишь коснуться непротиворечивых подходов к достижению наилучшей мореходности некоторых классов кораблей и судов. Новые проектные построения последовательно обсуждаются в книге в форме технико-исторического анализа мореходности, физико-геометрического представления о корабельном волнообразовании и взаимодействии корпуса с морским волнением, с последующей интерпретацией сравнительных экспериментов с опытовыми моделями гипотетических и перспективных проектов кораблей и судов. Комплексный подход к рассмотрению вопросов морского инженерного дела позволил дополнить настоящее исследование материалами о гидротехнических особенностях гаваней морских портов, а также о вовлечении творческой молодежи к освоению морских наук. Изложение ведется в краткой форме, достаточной для поверки основных результатов и воплощения всех проектных решений.

Storm surge and sea level rise (SLR) are affecting coastal communities, properties, and ecosystems. While coastal ecosystems, such as wetlands and marshes, have the capacity to reduce the impacts of storm surge and coastal flooding, the increasing rate of SLR can induce the transformation and migration of these natural habitats. In this study, we combined coastal storm surge modeling and economic analysis to evaluate the role of natural habitats in coastal flood protection. We focused on a selected cross-section of three coastal counties in New Jersey adjacent to the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR) that is protected by wetlands and marshes. The coupled coastal hydro-dynamic and wave models, ADCIRC+SWAN, were applied to simulate flooding from historical and synthetic storms in the Mid-Atlantic US for current and future SLR scenarios. The Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) was used to project the potential migration and habitat transformation in coastal marshes due to SLR in the year 2050. Furthermore, a counterfactual land cover approach, in which marshes are converted to open water in the model, was implemented for each storm scenario in the present and the future to estimate the amount of flooding that is avoided due to the presence of natural habitats and the subsequent reduction in residential property damage. The results indicate that this salt marshes can reduce up to 14% of both the flood depth and property damage during relatively low intensity storm events, demonstrating the efficacy of natural flood protection for recurrent storm events. Monetarily, this translates to the avoidance of up to $13.1 and $32.1 million in residential property damage in the selected coastal counties during the '50-year storm' simulation and hurricane Sandy under current sea level conditions, and in the year '2050 SLR scenario', respectively. This research suggests that protecting and preserving natural habitats can contribute to enhance coastal resilience.

Bangladesh is infamous for the negative impact that flooding has on the ability of Bangladesh to grow its economy. Coastal flooding due to cyclones and storm surges brings loss of life and property, and longer term impacts such as water-logging and salinity intrusion. During the 1960s in response to tremendous floods and natural hazards the government decided to implement a program of coastal embankments (otherwise known as polders), protecting agricultural land from unpredictable and destructive coastal flooding. Although the polders were not built to protect against storm surges, almost every year they play a significant protective role which raises the issue of assessing the adequacy of the polder heights under such devastating events. Such events are likely to become more devastating due to the increased frequency of cyclones due to climate change and a projected rise in sea level in the northern Bay of Bengal of 0.1-0.3 m by 2050 and 0.3-0.6 m by 2100.


To this end, this study aims to evaluate the adequacy of the polder heights under the impacts of storm surges under current and future climate scenarios. A Delft 3D hydrodynamic model coupled with the cyclone generating tool Delft Dashboard has been applied over the coastal region of Bangladesh to generate the inundation due to recent major cyclones Sidr (2007) and Aila (2009). Additionally the strength (wind speed and pressure drop) of cyclone Sidr has been used generate the extreme inundation scenario for storm surges. To incorporate the climate scenarios the sea boundary conditions have been derived for a modelled period of 1971 to 2099 using the SRES A1B emissions scenario from the UK Met Office general circulation model HadCM3 while upstream freshwater conditions were taken for the Q0, Q8 and Q16 scenarios from a hydrological model of the river basins (Whitehead et al, 2014). Out of these scenarios the model simulation is done for the most extreme hydrodynamic and hydrological conditions which were found for the year 2047 and 2088.


The model outputs show the maximum inundation height of 5.2m occurs near Shyamnagar in Satkhira district close to the Polder 15 during a storm possessing the strength of Sidr during the year 2088 and in 2047 an inundation of 5m height is predicted to occur due to the Sidr like cyclones at the Assass union near Satkhira. Since the maximum, minimum and average polder heights in the study region are 5.75m, 4.5m and 4.79m respectively (BWDB), this study reflects the necessity of both strengthening and raising of the polders at certain locations to protect lives and livelihoods of around 35 million coastal people (BBS, 2003).

Keywords: Polders, Storm surges, Sea level rise, Delft 3D, Climate Change

The oceanic forced wave beneath a moving atmospheric disturbance is amplified by Proudman resonance. When modified by the Earth's rotation this classical resonance only occurs if the disturbance time scale is smaller than the inertial period. With or without Coriolis effects, free transients generated by storm forced waves obliquely crossing step changes in water depth at particular angles are shown to resonate by exciting a range of long barotropic free waves. Rotationally influenced slow atmospherically forced waves crossing a vertical coast at a critical angle lead to a form of subcritical resonance, which occurs only when the component of the disturbances' phase velocities along the coast matches that of a free Kelvin wave (KW). In a rotating ocean, transients generated by disturbances crossing a step at a particular angle are shown to excite a free double Kelvin wave (DKW). This new type of resonance only occurs for sufficiently large steps and disturbances with time scale greater than the inertial period. A storm crossing a step shelf can result in the excitation of an infinite set of edge waves, a single KW, a unique DKW and a first-mode continental shelf wave, depending on the topography and the disturbance time scale, translation speed and incident angle. The study of resonances and wave mode excitations generated by storms crossing a coast or a continental shelf may contribute to understanding how a particular combination of the storm characteristics can result in destructive coastal events with time scales encompassing the typical meteotsunami period band (tens of minutes) and storm surges with periods of several hours or days

A storm surge is the sudden rise of sea water over the astronomical tides, generated by an approaching storm.
This event poses a major threat to the Philippine coastal areas,
as manifested by Typhoon Haiyan on 8 November 2013. This hydro-meteorological hazard is one of the main reasons for the high number of casualties due to the typhoon, with 6300 deaths. It became evident that the need to develop a storm surge inundation map is of utmost importance. To develop these maps, the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-Project NOAH) simulated historical tropical cyclones that entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility. The Japan Meteorological Agency storm surge model was used to simulate storm surge heights. The frequency distribution of the maximum storm surge heights was calculated using simulation results of tropical cyclones under a specific public storm warning signal (PSWS) that passed through a particular coastal area. This determines the storm surge height corresponding to a given probability of occurrence. The storm surge heights from the model were added to the maximum astronomical tide data from WXTide software. The team then created maps of inundation for a specific PSWS using the probability of exceedance derived from the frequency distribution. Buildings and other structures were assigned a probability of exceedance depending on their occupancy category, i.e., 1% probability of exceedance for critical facilities, 10% probability of exceedance for special occupancy structures, and 25% for standard occupancy and miscellaneous structures. The maps produced show the storm-surge-vulnerable areas in Metro Manila, illustrated by the flood depth of up to 4m and extent of up to 6.5 km from the coastline. This information can help local government units in developing early warning systems, disaster preparedness and mitigation plans, vulnerability assessments, risk-sensitive land use plans, shoreline defense efforts, and coastal protection measures. These maps can also determine the best areas to build critical structures, or at least determine the level of protection of these structures should they be built in hazard areas. Moreover, these will support the local government units’ mandate to raise public awareness, disseminate information about storm surge hazards, and implement appropriate countermeasures for a given PSWS.

A state-of-the-art forecasting system (WaveForUs: Wave climate and coastal circulation Forecasts for public Use) is implemented, delivering 3-day forecasts of spectral wave characteristics, hydrodynamic circulation and storm surges for the Thermaikos Gulf (North Aegean Sea). The forecasts are disseminated to the public via television broadcasts and internet applications. The WaveForUs platform is fully functional and aspires to provide users with an invaluable tool for their sea-based activities in Greece. The simulations are based on a storm surge hydrodynamic model, a circulation ocean model and a wave model, while necessary atmospheric input data are provided by a well-validated atmospheric model. The main characteristics of the WaveForUs system and the sea-state models that comprise the core of the modelling system are presented and discussed, while results from calibration/validation tests support the accuracy of the forecasts.

**This is only a preview. For more information, please email me at jbrayo(@)alum(.)up(.)edu(.)ph. Thanks!

The model being used for this is the ADCIRC (ADvanced Multi-Dimensional CIRCulation)
model coupled with SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) model. The SWAN
model employs an analog of the Gauss-Seidel sweeping method, while the ADCIRC model employs a continuous-Galerkin solution of the Generalized Wave Continuity Equation.

Cite as: Bonsall, J. (Ed.) 2015. Weather Beaten Archaeology Conference: Revealing, Concealing & Erasing. Institute of Technology, Sligo, 7-8 March, 2015. Programme & Book of Abstracts

Coastal archaeological sites have always been vulnerable to erosion. In recent years this vulnerability has become a contentious issue when a variety of archaeological sites across Northern Europe were impacted by the winter storms of 2013-14. Stone forts fell into the sea. Castles crumbled to the ground. Shipwrecks, middens, timber trackways and ancient drowned forests were revealed for the first time in centuries. Heritage venues were flooded and a large number of archaeological sites were washed away entirely. The annual winter storms now regularly require rescue work by governments and archaeologists, allow chance finds by members of the public and have necessitated the creation of citizen science schemes to report vulnerable / newly discovered sites. The Weather Beaten Archaeology Conference is the first of its kind and will establish a forum for the exchange of experiences of extreme weather events and their impact on archaeological sites.

In this study, shallow water equations (SWEs) in Cartesian coordinates were used to foresee water levels (WLs) on account of the nonlinear tide-surge interaction (TSI) associated with the recent cyclonic storm Roanu that hit the eastern coast of Bangladesh. A fully explicit finite-difference method (FDM) was implemented to solve the SWEs. A one-way nesting approach was implemented for incorporating coastal complexity with the lowest cost. The land-sea interface of every nested scheme was made favorable for employing the FDM via the stair-step technique. To incorporate river dynamics, freshwater Meghna River discharge was taken into consideration in the innermost scheme. An appropriate tidal regime in the domain was established after forcing the sea-level to be oscillatory applying the four effective tidal constituents, viz. M 2 (principal lunar semidiurnal), S 2 (principal solar semidiurnal), K 1 (lunisolar diurnal), and O 1 (principal lunar diurnal) on the southern boundary of the outermost scheme. Numerical experiments were performed by the model to estimate WLs due to tide, surge, and TSI associated with tropical storm Roanu in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Our estimated WLs due to TSI were in good agreement with the observed data procured from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and some reported results. The model was found to perform well on the basis of the root mean square error (RMSE) values and computational cost.

This paper presents the study on wind and waves interactions at a seawall using a numerical wave channel. The numerical experiments were conducted for wave overtopping of a ¼ sloping seawall using several conditions of incident waves and wind speeds. The numerical results were verified against laboratory data in a case for wave overtopping without wind effects. The interaction of waves and wind was analyzed in term of mean wave quantities, overtopping rate and variation of wind velocity at some selected locations. The results showed that the overtopping rate was strongly affected by wind and the wind field was also significantly modified by waves. There exists an effective range of wind speed in comparison with the local shallow wave speed at the breaking location, which gives significant effects to the wave overtopping rates. The maximum of wind adjustment coefficient fw for wave overtopping rate was strongly related to the mean overtopping rate in the case for no wind. This study also showed that when the mean overtopping rate was greater than 5 × 10-4m3/s/m, the maximum of wind adjustment coefficient fw approached to a specific value of about 1.25.

We investigate the wave energy potential in the Caribbean Sea using a 30-year wave hindcast. Wave energy in enclosed sea basins, such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, is commonly associated with lower energy production rates. However, an easterly zonal wind reaching 13 m/s, known as the Caribbean Low-Level Jet (CCLJ), is shown to control the wave climatology in the Caribbean Sea. The wave hindcast information is validated with altimetry (Globwave) and buoy (DIMAR) data from the Colombian Caribbean Sea. The wave hindcast performance is very satisfactory at two buoy locations (Barranquilla and Providencia) and with respect to altimetry information, but presents an underprediction of extreme events at Puerto Bolivar. Therefore, an assessment of wave energy in the study area, based on wave hindcast information, is conducted to investigate the wave energy potential in such enclosed area. Numerical results suggest that the CLLJ region is suitable for wave energy extraction (8–14 kW/m) and presents important spatial gradients that need to be considered for the installation of wave energy devices. Furthermore, it is found that locally generated (sea) wave energy can be suitable for energy production and hence future technology development should be devoted to its harvesting.

In this study, the method of lines (MOLs) with higher order central difference approximation method coupled with the classical fourth order Runge-Kutta (RK(4,4)) method is used in solving shallow water equations (SWEs) in Cartesian coordinates to foresee water levels associated with a storm accurately along the coast of Bangladesh. In doing so, the partial derivatives of the SWEs with respect to the space variables were discretized with 5-point central difference, as a test case, to obtain a system of ordinary differential equations with time as an independent variable for every spatial grid point, which with initial conditions were solved by the RK(4,4) method. The complex land-sea interface and bottom topographic details were incorporated closely using nested schemes. The coastal and island boundaries were rectangularized through proper stair step representation, and the storing positions of the scalar and momentum variables were specified according to the rules of structured C-grid. A stable tidal regime was made over the model domain considering the effect of the major tidal constituent, M 2 along the southern open boundary of the outermost parent scheme. The Meghna River fresh water discharge was taken into account for the inner most child scheme. To take into account the dynamic interaction of tide and surge, the generated tidal regime was introduced as the initial state of the sea, and the surge was then made to come over it through computer simulation. Numerical experiments were performed with the cyclone April 1991 to simulate water levels due to tide, surge, and their interaction at different stations along the coast of Bangladesh. Our computed results were found to compare reasonable well with the limited observed data obtained from Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and were found to be better in comparison with the results obtained through the regular finite difference method and the 3-point central difference MOLs coupled with the RK(4,4) method with regard to the root mean square error values.

The impact of cyclone track features (e.g., cyclone translation speed, cyclone path and cyclone landfall crossing angle) in combination with tidal phase shift upon surge characteristics have been investigated at the Bay of Bengal along the Bangladesh coast. A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model in a horizontal direction (2DH) coupled with a storm-surge model has been employed for the study. Numerical experiments with three different cyclone translation speeds show that when the surge height is directly forced by the cyclonic wind speed especially within the RWM (Radius of Maximum Wind), faster translation speed produces reduced surge height as the cyclone gets less time to force the water. On the other hand, at locations outside the RMW, surge waves travel as a propagating long wave where higher surges are produced by faster moving cyclones. It is found that surge arrival times are more and more affected by tidal phase when cyclone translation speed is reduced. Analysis of seven hypothetical parallel cyclone paths show that local bathymetry and complex coastline configurations strongly influence the surge height and surge arrival time along the Bangladesh coast. From the analyses of cyclone landfall crossing angles at the Khulna and Chittagong coasts, it is observed that surge durations are the smallest at both the coasts when the coastline crossing angles are the smallest.

A storm surge is the sudden rise of sea water over the astronomical tides, generated by an approaching storm. This event poses a major threat to the Philippine coastal areas, as manifested by Typhoon Haiyan on 8 November 2013. This hydro-meteorological hazard is one of the main reasons for the high number of casualties due to the typhoon, with 6300 deaths. It became evident that the need to develop a storm surge inundation map is of utmost importance. To develop these maps, the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-Project NOAH) simulated historical tropical cyclones that entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility. The Japan Meteorological Agency storm surge model was used to simulate storm surge heights. The frequency distribution of the maximum storm surge heights was calculated using simulation results of tropical cyclones under a specific public storm warning signal (PSWS) that passed through a particular coastal area. This determines the storm surge height corresponding to a given probability of occurrence. The storm surge heights from the model were added to the maximum astronomical tide data from WXTide software. The team then created maps of inundation for a specific PSWS using the probability of exceedance derived from the frequency distribution. Buildings and other structures were assigned a probability of exceedance depending on their occupancy category, i.e., 1% probability of exceedance for critical facilities, 10% probability of exceedance for special occupancy structures, and 25% for standard occupancy and miscellaneous structures. The maps produced show the storm-surge-vulnerable areas in Metro Manila, illustrated by the flood depth of up to 4 m and extent of up to 6.5 km from the coastline. This information can help local government units in developing early warning systems, disaster preparedness and mitigation plans, vulnerability assessments, risk-sensitive land use plans, shoreline defense efforts, and coastal protection measures. These maps can also determine the best areas to build critical structures, or at least determine the level of protection of these structures should they be built in hazard areas. Moreover, these will support the local government units' mandate to raise public awareness, disseminate information about storm surge hazards, and implement appropriate countermeasures for a given PSWS.

Proudman resonance amplifies the oceanic forced wave beneath moving atmospheric pressure disturbances. The amplification varies with water depth; consequently, the forced wave beneath a disturbance crossing topography radiates transient free waves. Transients are shown to magnify the effects of Proudman resonance for disturbances crossing the coast or shelf at particular angles. A Snell like reflection law gives rise to a type of resonance for relatively slow moving disturbances crossing a coast in an otherwise flat-bottomed ocean. This occurs for translation speeds less than the shallow water wave speed for disturbances approaching the coast at a critical angle given by the inverse sine of the Froude number of the disturbance. A disturbance crossing the shelf at particular angles can also excite seiche modes of the shelf via generation of a transient at the continental slope. Beyond a typically small angle of incidence, transients generated by a disturbance crossing the continental slope and coast will be trapped on the shelf by internal reflection. The refraction law for a fast-moving forced wave crossing an ocean ridge at greater than a small angle of incidence also results in trapped free-wave transients with tsunami-like periods propagating along the ridge. The subcritical resonance, excitation of shelf modes and trapping of the transients may have implications for storm surges and the generation of destructive meteotsunami.

Abstract Knowledge of coastal storm regimes is essential to ensure an economic and sustainable development in the coastal area. In recent decades, wave storms have been responsible for several fatalities and economic losses along the Algiers coast. The aim of this paper is to present a detailed analysis on wave storm events during the past 40 years, including an assessment of the potential impacts of various storm events along the Algiers coasts according to their intensity and direction based on the different historical events. Thus, this paper gives an estimation of return periods of extreme significant wave heights and extreme storm events. For this purpose, the wave storm events occurring in the Algiers coasts, based on the storm power index (SPI) developed by Dolan and Davis (1992), were characterized and classified. Five storm categories were defined in terms of their power index, subdivided into 31 categories, taking into consideration their propagation directions. The temporal analysis shows a progressive increase in the number of storm events and their intensity during the last decade, which explains the increased damage recorded recently in the Algiers coastlines. A spatial analysis of these extreme and catastrophic storms being responsible in these damages has shown that the nature of coastal storm damages on the local scale depends on several factors, mainly power of these storms and their direction; in view of the complex morphology of the Algiers coastlines. These two factors were considered during the extreme value analysis, and allowed us to estimate the return period of the storm events already observed based on their SPI and direction. A return period of 59 years has been estimated for the catastrophic storm of 2015, which caused significant erosion resulting a loss of more than 15 000 m2 of coastal lands.

Fields of dislocated boulders and blocks record catastrophic coastal flooding during strong storms or tsunamis and play a pivotal role in coastal hazard assessment. Along the rocky carbonate coast of Eastern Samar (Philippines) we documented longshore transport of a block of 180 t and boulders (up to 23.5 t) shifted uphill to elevations of up to 10m above mean lower low water level during Supertyphoon Haiyan on 8 November 2013. Initiation-of-motion approaches indicate that boulder dislocation occurred with flow velocities of 6.3–8.3ms-1 which significantly exceeds depth-averaged flow velocities of a local coupled hydrodynamic and wave model (Delft3D) of the typhoon with a maximum < 1.5ms-1. These results support the hypothesis that infragravity waves induced by the typhoon were responsible for the remarkable flooding pattern in E Samar, which are not resolved in phase-averaged storm surge models. Our findings show that tsunamis and hydrodynamic conditions induced by tropical cycl...

Modelling of storm surge numerically has always been strenuous as it is associated with various influencing factors. The major governing component being the wind forcing or the wind stress-that signifies the computational accuracy of simulated surge and wave parameters. The present study is aimed at analysing the most reliable wind drag evaluation method for real-time predictions of storm surge. In an attempt to examine the same, two tropical cyclones (Thane and Vardah) eventuated in the Northern Indian Ocean were modelled. Four most widely used linear empirical and quadratic relations along with the enhanced Wave Boundary Layer Model (WBLM) were executed for the estimations of wind drag coefficient. The surge was subsequently simulated (using the coupled hydrodynamic circulation and wave model: ADCIRC and SWAN, respectively), individually for each of the above wind stress methods to obtain the corresponding water levels and wave features. The modelled values were further validated with the observed water level and wave data. It was quite intuitively observed that, WBLM outperformed (i.e. significantly correlated with the observed values) its linear counterparts since, the former pragmatically includes the effects of air-sea interface at high wind speeds in the model. However, due to insufficiency of the observed parameters, water levels obtained at locations of maximum wind speeds could not be satisfactorily validated. The WBLM-based computation of significant wave heights in deep as well as shallow water nevertheless enabled efficient and reasonably-reliable estimations of the peak incidents (along with relative wave directions and energy densities). Although this study essentially includes cyclonic wind velocities, it was identified that-with given wind field that includes the 'pre-existing' wind-wave climate in the relevant domain (i.e. before the cyclone genesis) the modelled estimates could be more precise.

The Pointe-au-Chien community floats atop a sinking marsh at the farthest end of Timbalier Bay, some 40 kilometers north of the Gulf of Mexico. Split between the parish lines of Terrebonne and Lafourche, Louisiana, the local American Indian tribe have survived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years from the resources its rich soil and favorable weather have provided. The Islanders consist of fishermen, farmers and builders – traditions handed down from generations beyond memory.  But the marsh’s once occasionally-brackish waters have turned to salt, and the very livelihood of the tribe faces an uncertain and grim future. Sea level rise, subsidence, oil and gas development, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and intensifying hurricanes have all pitted the proud community against the very nature that once helped them thrive. The ecosystems have shifted northward, the surge penetrates farther inland with each storm, and the land itself has all but disappeared.

Louisiana Sea Grant (LSG) began working with the tribe in 2013 hoping to incorporate the tribe’s Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into quantitative models for future mitigation projects related to sea level rise and hurricane impacts. As layers of the tribe’s history were unearthed, Sea Grant’s role in both the preservation of the land and the tribe’s application for federal recognition expanded. The multi-disciplinary approach to mapping the tribe’s past, present and future exhibits the quintessential coming together of a unique range of disciplines for the development of research that not only rewrites Native American history in the region, but also helps in developing the coming chapters of the tribe’s ever-growing journal.

http://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=75f4f8a0007f432b876d94ced6649422

A state-of-the-art forecasting system (WaveForUs: Wave climate and coastal circulation Forecasts for public Use) is implemented, delivering 3-day forecasts of spectral wave characteristics, hydrodynamic circulation and storm surges for the Thermaikos Gulf (North Aegean Sea). The forecasts are disseminated to the public via television broadcasts and internet applications. The WaveForUs platform is fully functional and aspires to provide users with an invaluable tool for their sea-based activities in Greece. The simulations are based on a storm surge hydrodynamic model, a circulation ocean model and a wave model, while necessary atmospheric input data are provided by a well-validated atmospheric model. The main characteristics of the WaveForUs system and the sea-state models that comprise the core of the modelling system are presented and discussed, while results from calibration/validation tests support the accuracy of the forecasts.

Numerical approach to the study of coastal boulders: The case of Martigues, Marseille, France.

A. Piscitelli, M. Milella, J.-C. Hyppolite, M. Shah-Hosseini, C. Morhange, G. Mastronuzzi

in Quaternary International 439 (2017) 52-64.

The coastal area extending east of the city of Martigues, between the bays of Bonnieu and that of Chariot, is characterized by an alternation of gently sloping rocky coast and 5 m high cliffs composed of Miocene limestone. The foot of the cliff is marked by a well developed notch and a discontinuous wave-cut platform; at its base, the sea bottom reaches a maximum depth of about 4.5 - 6 m. The emerged area shows boulders placed up to 10 m inland of the coastline at around 2 m above s.l. and, weighing as much as 35 tonnes. A geomorphological survey was conducted by means of a Terrestrial Laser Scanner to estimate boulder sizes. The particular focus of the proposed study was to estimate the minimum wave height required to detach and transport two boulders, originally joined together as one bigger one and weighing approximately 25 tonnes, from the wave-cut platform onto the surf bench. Hydrodynamic models developed by various authors were used to calculate the minimum wave height necessary to move them. The data obtained from the resulting hydrodynamic equations were compared to wave-climate data collected over the last 15 years by the buoy off the coast of Marseille, in the Gulf of Lion. The present study seems to confirm that it would not have been necessary to have a tsunami impact (among other things, never recorded in the last 20 years) to move a 35 tonnes boulder. Indeed, hydro-dynamic equations suggest that the boulder might have been broken and only subsequently moved due to the impact of waves generated by an extreme storm which would have occurred prior to December 2003. This hypothesis seems to be in agreement with the morphology of the sea bottom, hydrodynamic features of the area as well as eyewitnesses.

To predict future coastal hazards, it is important to quantify any links between climate drivers and spatial patterns of
coastal change. However, most studies of future coastal vulnerability do not account for the dynamic components of coastal
water levels during storms, notably wave-driven processes, storm surges and seasonal water level anomalies, although
these components can add metres to water levels during extreme events. Here we synthesize multi-decadal, co-located
data assimilated between 1979 and 2012 that describe wave climate, local water levels and coastal change for 48 beaches
throughout the Pacific Ocean basin. We find that observed coastal erosion across the Pacific varies most closely with
El Niño/Southern Oscillation, with a smaller influence from the Southern Annular Mode and the Pacific North American
pattern. In the northern and southern Pacific Ocean, regional wave and water level anomalies are significantly correlated
to a suite of climate indices, particularly during boreal winter; conditions in the northeast Pacific Ocean are often opposite
to those in the western and southern Pacific. We conclude that, if projections for an increasing frequency of extreme El Niño
and La Niña events over the twenty-first century are confirmed, then populated regions on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean
basin could be alternately exposed to extreme coastal erosion and flooding, independent of sea-level rise.

Wave runup statistics on beaches, dunes and coastal structures are needed for coastal management and engineering designs. Spectral wave energy–action models are widely used to predict wave propagation in deep and shallow water, incorporating the effects of refraction, bed friction, breaking and wave–wave interactions. To calculate nearshore runup or overtopping, wave-by-wave or phase-resolving modelling is necessary as spectral, phase-averaged models only give the spectral evolution and wave-induced setup. Herein, unidirectional wave propagation up a uniform slope predicted by the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model is compared with experimental data. The surface elevation time series near the breaking position is then created from the predicted nearshore spectra and input to a non-linear shallow-water equation solver to give statistical runup predictions which are also compared with experimental data. Sensitivity to the offshore position for wave input is investigated. Runup statistics are shown to be reasonably well predicted.