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Complex Numerical Simulation of the U.S. East Coast and Inland Areas using a Coupled Hydrologic, Hydrodynamic and Ocean model: Application to Hurricane Sandy
  • +7
  • Hassan Mashriqui,
  • Sadiq Sadiq Khan,
  • Beheen Trimble,
  • Jon S. Allen,
  • Ryan Grout,
  • Trey Flowers,
  • Ali Abdolali,
  • Saeed Mogihim,
  • Andre Jaco Van der Westhuysen,
  • Edward P Clark
Hassan Mashriqui
NOAA Office of Water Prediction, Silver Spring, MD
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Sadiq Sadiq Khan
NOAA/NWS National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Beheen Trimble
NOAA-NWC, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Jon S. Allen
NOAA National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Ryan Grout
National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, United States
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Trey Flowers
NOAA/NWS Office of Water Prediction, National Water Center, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Ali Abdolali
1- NWS/NCEP/Environmental Modeling Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), College Park MD USA 2- I.M. Systems Group, Inc. (IMSG), Rockville, MD, 20852, USA

Corresponding Author:ali.abdolali@noaa.gov

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Saeed Mogihim
NOAA National Ocean Service, Silver Spring, MD, United States
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Andre Jaco Van der Westhuysen
NOAA/NWS, College Park, MD, United States
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Edward P Clark
NOAA, NWS Office of Water Prediction, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States
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Abstract

Fluctuations of the total water level in the U.S. East Coast depends on the complex interactions of freshwater flow, tide, storm surge and wave actions. In order to include all major forcings of water movement in this area, a coupled modeling system consisting of the National Water Model (NWM), the Advanced Circulation Ocean Model (ADCIRC), and the WAVEWATCH III model has been developed. In this system, a coupled inland hydrologic model is linked to an ocean hydrodynamic and wave model to compute total water levels in the coastal zones. In the freshwater component of the hydrodynamic model, 1D river components were included in the model to capture an accurate representation of tributaries to the 2D model of the estuary and oceans. The model domain included several states of the US East Coast starting from New Jersey to the St. Croix River at the US-Canada border. Model simulations were compared with 2012 superstorm Sandy measured tidal water levels and hurricane surge. Initial simulations reproduced satisfactory spatial and temporal variations of water levels due to riverine discharge and storm surge. The model predictions showed that using 1D component allowed better representations of the inland rivers and produced accurate river water levels. Simulations indicated that water levels in the inland areas depends on both river discharges and backwater effects of the ocean. These results showed the strengths of the coupled modeling system used in this research to compute total water levels during river flooding that coincides with extreme hurricane surge. Initial results showed that the coupled modeling framework used in this study is capable of total water estimation in the coastal zones and the accuracy of the water levels highly depends on the availability of reliable topographic, bathymetric, and bottom roughness data.