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Development of 2D Unstructured Meshes Using a Sizing Function Derived from Euclidean Distances to Coastal Features for the NWM Hydrodynamic Engine (D-Flow FM) Model
  • +7
  • Henok Kefelegn,
  • Henok Kefelegn,
  • Richard Gibbs,
  • Julio Zyserman,
  • Trey Flowers,
  • Edward Clark,
  • Hassan Mashriqui,
  • Js Allen,
  • Jason Ducker,
  • Ryan Grout
Henok Kefelegn
NOAA Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center, NOAA Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States

Corresponding Author:hmyr12@yahoo.com

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Henok Kefelegn
NOAA Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center
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Richard Gibbs
NOAA Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Julio Zyserman
NOAA Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Trey Flowers
NOAA Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Edward Clark
NOAA Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Hassan Mashriqui
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Water Prediction, National Weather Service (NWS), Silver Spring, United States
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Js Allen
NOAA Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Jason Ducker
NOAA Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Ryan Grout
NOAA Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Abstract

Generation of 2D meshes with reduced number of elements while yielding accurate results is a major challenge in coastal numerical models. High-quality 2D unstructured meshes were generated using sizing functions, which were computed from Euclidean distances to coastal features at given spatial locations and assigned element sizes based on calculated distances. The coastal features consist of National Water Model (NWM) streamlines, National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), NOAA Medium Resolution Shoreline and bathymetric features from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). This approach allows improved integration of the hydrodynamic D-Flow Flexible Mesh (D-Flow FM) model into the hydrological NWM and results in an optimum number of computational points. The method grants the user flexibility to control element sizes and avoids manual iterative procedures by determining an optimal element-sizing function that defines small element scales in regions where geometrical and physical characteristics exist, with larger scales elsewhere. Newly created continental-scale meshes on the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean coastlines demonstrate the application of the proposed method for automatic generation of unstructured, high-quality 2D meshes.