Coastal responses to sea level rise (SLR) include inundation of wetlands, increased shoreline erosion, and increased flooding during storm events. Hydrodynamic parameters such as tidal ranges, tidal prisms, tidal asymmetries, increased flooding depths and inundation extents during storm events respond nonadditively to SLR. Coastal morphology continually adapts toward equilibrium as sea levels rise, inducing changes in the landscape. Marshes may struggle to keep pace with SLR and rely on sediment accumulation and the availability of suitable uplands for migration. Whether hydrodynamic, morphologic, or ecologic, the impacts of SLR are interrelated. To plan for changes under future sea levels, coastal managers need information and data regarding the potential effects of SLR to make informed decisions for managing human and natural communities. This review examines previous studies that have accounted for the dynamic, nonlinear responses of hydrodynamics, coastal morphology, and marsh ecology to SLR by implementing more complex approaches rather than the simplistic “bathtub” approach. These studies provide an improved understanding of the dynamic effects of SLR on coastal environments and contribute to an overall paradigm shift in how coastal scientists and engineers approach modeling the effects of SLR, transitioning away from implementing the “bathtub” approach. However, it is recommended that future studies implement a synergetic approach that integrates the dynamic interactions between physical and ecological environments to better predict the impacts of SLR on coastal systems.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/2015EF000298

The dynamic effects of sea level rise on low-gradient coastal landscapes: A review

Standard approaches to determining the impacts of sea level rise (SLR) on storm surge flooding employ numerical models reflecting present conditions with modified sea states for a given SLR scenario. In this study, we advance this paradigm by adjusting the model framework so that it reflects not only a change in sea state but also variations to the landscape (morphologic changes and urbanization of coastal cities). We utilize a numerical model of the Mississippi and Alabama coast to simulate the response of hurricane storm surge to changes in sea level, land use/land cover, and land surface elevation for past (1960), present (2005), and future (2050) conditions. The results show that the storm surge response to SLR is dynamic and sensitive to changes in the landscape. We introduce a new modeling framework that includes modification of the landscape when producing storm surge models for future conditions.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2013GL058759

Dynamics of sea level rise and coastal flooding on a changing landscape

Pluvial flooding in urban areas drained by storm sewer networks is characterized by surcharge-induced inundation. Urban inundation models need to reproduce the complex interaction between the sewer flow and the surcharge-induced inundation to make reasonable predictions of the likely flood damage in urban areas. In the framework of the present work, the storm sewer model SWMM5 and a newly developed two-dimensional (2D) noninertia overland-flow model have been coupled to simulate the interaction between the sewer system and the urban floodplain. The solution of the 2D model is on the basis of an alternating direction implicit scheme that solves the 2D noninertia free-surface shallow-water equations. For accuracy reasons, the time step is limited and controlled by the use of iteration to home-in on an accurate solution at each sweep. The dynamic interaction between the two models is bidirectional, and the interacting discharges are calculated according to the water level differences between the flows in the...

Coupled 1D and Noninertia 2D Flood Inundation Model for Simulation of Urban Flooding

A model is presented for the simulation of shallow water flow and, specifically, flood waves propagating on a dry bed. The governing equations are transformed to an equivalent system valid on a deforming coordinate system and are solved by a dissipative finite-element technique. A second-order difference scheme is employed for the integration in time. The implicit nonlinear equations resulting from the weak formulations are solved by the Newton-Raphson method, and the set of linear algebraic equations generated is solved by a frontal algorithm. A deforming grid generation scheme is introduced in the dissipative finite-element formulation to account for the effects of the propagating or receding wave fronts on dry land. The accuracy and stability of the model is examined by comparing the model results with observed data from an experimental field test. Results of trial runs for the simulation of overland flow are also presented.

Closure of "Model for Flood Propagation on Initially Dry Land"

This work outlines a dynamic modeling framework to examine the effects of global climate change, and sea level rise (SLR) in particular, on tropical cyclone-driven storm surge inundation. The methodology, applied across the northern Gulf of Mexico, adapts a present day large-domain, high resolution, tide, wind-wave, and hurricane storm surge model to characterize the potential outlook of the coastal landscape under four SLR scenarios for the year 2100. The modifications include shoreline and barrier island morphology, marsh migration, and land use land cover change. Hydrodynamics of 10 historic hurricanes were simulated through each of the five model configurations (present day and four SLR scenarios). Under SLR, the total inundated land area increased by 87% and developed and agricultural lands by 138% and 189%, respectively. Peak surge increased by as much as 1 m above the applied SLR in some areas, and other regions were subject to a reduction in peak surge, with respect to the applied SLR, indicating a nonlinear response. Analysis of time-series water surface elevation suggests the interaction between SLR and storm surge is nonlinear in time; SLR increased the time of inundation and caused an earlier arrival of the peak surge, which cannot be addressed using a static (“bathtub”) modeling framework. This work supports the paradigm shift to using a dynamic modeling framework to examine the effects of global climate change on coastal inundation. The outcomes have broad implications and ultimately support a better holistic understanding of the coastal system and aid restoration and long-term coastal sustainability.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2015EF000347

Dynamic simulation and numerical analysis of hurricane storm surge under sea level rise with geomorphologic changes along the northern Gulf of Mexico

Application of Thevenin Theorem for Model Reduction and Analysis of Large Water Distribution Networks

The estimation of maximum storm surges along a coast is indispensable for emergency action planning, design, and adaptation of coastal infrastructure. The existing studies on the Bay of Bengal coast have used synthetic tracks with constant track parameters such as the maximum wind speed, radius of maximum wind, and central pressure to estimate the probable maximum storm surges. However, the analysis of the best tracks from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center during 1978–2019 shows that the track parameters vary from origin to landfall locations. The reported studies along the Bay of Bengal have failed to capture such variations and overestimated probable maximum storm surges due to constant track parameters. Therefore, this study proposes a methodology for estimating wind speed of various return periods and associated track parameters that vary along a synthetic track. The wind speed of different return periods is computed at each eye location using the probabilistic approach. Thus, the calculated wind speeds vary from origin to landfall locations, and such a pattern of wind speed variation is observed to be similar to the historical cyclones. The radius of maximum wind and central pressure is calculated using the regression equations derived from historical tracks. The accuracy of the proposed methodology is investigated by simulating the cyclones Thane and Vardah that occurred along the Tamil Nadu coast. The results suggest that the varying track parameters using the proposed methodology produce realistic surge values similar to parameters from best track data, and it overcomes the overestimation of surge heights. The proposed methodology is further utilized to analyse the maximum surge scenarios along the Tamil Nadu coast resulting from various track shifts and angles of attack. The proposed methodology is expected to improve the estimation of storm surges in other basins.

Improved accuracy of storm surge simulations by incorporating changing along‐track parameters

The necessity to protect coastal regions from sea-level rise (SLR) and extreme events demands a rigorous assessment of coastal vulnerability. The intergovernmental panel for climate change (IPCC) predicts that climate change will severely impact the coastal region, river systems, and urban infrastructures. The changing climate is observed to be increasing the frequency and magnitude of extreme hydrometeorological conditions, such as storm surges that adversely affect coastal areas by flood inundation. This study emphasizes the need to use extreme events and socio-economic data to evaluate the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) for planning and adaptation measures. Therefore, the present study utilizes spatially varying surge heights for improved estimation of the CVI, unlike the constant surge heights considered in the previous studies. For coastal adaptation measures, synthetic cyclones of different return periods, such as 20-, 50- and 100-year, are simulated using a hydrodynamic model to represent a range of risk and vulnerability in the estimated CVI. The proposed methodology for calculating the CVI is demonstrated by considering the Chennai coast in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The use of spatial distribution of storm surges from hydrodynamic simulations makes the CVI more realistic. Such thorough assessments utilizing high-resolution CVI maps can help policymakers suggest appropriate measures for specific coastal zones, which are more devastatingly affected by shoreline erosion, SLR and storm surge. The vulnerability assessment indicates that great care is needed in the planning and adaptation of the coastal ecosystem to extreme events for the safety and well-being of coastal populations and infrastructures. 

Assessment of coastal vulnerability for extreme events

As a pre-process of CFD (Computational Fluids Dynamics) analysis, mesh generation plays an important role in numerical simulation in the sense that mesh quality has significant influences on simulation results. For geometrically complex domains, quality structured mesh generation still remains a challenge. This paper presents a quality structured mesh generation process in a largescale complex domain along the Louisiana-Mississippi coast line, which is part of a numerical simulation and evaluation of coastal processes using the CCHE2D-Coast model. In this study, the study domain is about 440 km (longitude direction) x 320 km (latitude direction), and multiplescaled objects are required to be represented in detail, which makes it more difficult for quality structured mesh generation. The characteristic mesh size for the levees, roads and as-built hydraulic structures is 10-100 m, 10-100m for Pearl River, 100-1000m for Mississippi River, and 1000-2000m for the coast and gulf. To make the mesh lines conform to these objects as much as possible (which is desired for more accurate simulation), a multi-block scheme is used to decompose the whole domain into 17 blocks, and structured meshes with different resolutions was generated block by block. The assembled final mesh with 2103 x 1088 (= 2.288 M nodes) in this large complex domain was successfully generated using CCHE-MESH, a 2D mesh generator for both quality structured and unstructured meshes. Numerical simulation of coastal storm surge using the CCHE2D-Coast model based on this mesh produced satisfactory results.

Structured Mesh Generation along Louisiana-Mississippi Coast Line for Simulation of Coastal Processes

A methodology to generate high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) and surface water profile for a physical model using close range photogrammetric (CRP) technique

Soumendra Nath Kuiry

Papers

Application of Thevenin Theorem for Model Reduction and Analysis of Large Water Distribution Networks

Improved accuracy of storm surge simulations by incorporating changing along‐track parameters

Assessment of coastal vulnerability for extreme events

Structured Mesh Generation along Louisiana-Mississippi Coast Line for Simulation of Coastal Processes

A methodology to generate high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) and surface water profile for a physical model using close range photogrammetric (CRP) technique