Category Archives: Models

Posters: EWC Symposium 2020

A Poisson, JC Dietrich “Improving ‘sub-grid’ representation in the SLOSH model.” Environmental, Water Resources, and Coastal Engineering Research Symposium , North Carolina State University, 6 March 2020.

Improving ‘sub-grid’ representation in the SLOSH model.

CA Rucker, N Tull, JC Dietrich, R Luettich, R Cyriac. “Improving the accuracy of a real-time ADCIRC storm surge downscaling model.” Environmental, Water Resources, and Coastal Engineering Research Symposium , North Carolina State University, 6 March 2020.

Improving the accuracy of a real-time ADCIRC storm surge downscaling model.

JL Woodruff, JC Dietrich, AB Kennedy, D Wirasaet, D Bolster, Z Silver, RL Kolar. “Improving predictions of coastal flooding via sub-mesh corrections.” Environmental, Water Resources, and Coastal Engineering Research Symposium, North Carolina State University, 6 March 2020.

Improving predictions of coastal flooding via sub-mesh corrections.

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Wind and Tide Effects on the Choctawhatchee Bay Plume and Implications for Surface Transport at Destin Inlet

Multiple river-dominated estuaries line the northern Gulf coast and introduce substantial density variations. Their plumes have been shown to be highly sensitive to wind and tide effects, but in studies with limited observations and idealized wind forcing. This study explores these effects with a dynamic model that can represent the full behavior from river through estuary to shelf, and for a period with extensive observations. The inner shelf adjacent to Choctawhatchee Bay, a micro tidal estuary situated along the Florida Panhandle, is subject to buoyant, brackish outflows during the ebb-phase of the tidal cycle.

In December 2013, experiments were performed in this region to study mechanisms that influence near-shore surface transport. Satellite imagery showed a visible brackish surface plume at Destin during low tide. The goal of the present study is to quantify variability in the plume signature due to changes in tidal and wind forcing. Density-driven flows near Destin Inlet are modeled with the recently-enhanced, three-dimensional, baroclinic capabilities of the ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) model. Modeled tides, salinities and plume signature are validated against in-situ observations and satellite imagery. Model results reveal substantial changes in the length, width and orientation of the plume as the wind direction varied on consecutive days due to winter cold fronts. During a period of near-constant winds and variability in tidal amplitude, the model predicted a larger plume during spring tides than during neap conditions. Coriolis effects on the plume are minimized due to its small scale nature. Therefore, when the wind forcing is weak, the plume signature spreads radially from the inlet with slight preference to the down-shelf. The Choctawhatchee Bay plume is representative of other small-scale plumes formed in river-dominated and micro-tidal environments, and this work demonstrates the sensitivity of these plumes to changing environmental conditions.

R Cyriac, JC Dietrich, CA Blain, CN Dawson, KM Dresback, A Fathi, MV Bilskie, HC Graber, SC Hagen, RL Kolar (2019). “Wind and tide effects on the Choctawhatchee Bay plume and implications for surface transport at Destin Inlet.” Regional Studies in Marine Science, 35, 101131, DOI: 10.1016/j.rsma.2020.101131.

News: CCHT Leads a Core Research Project for NC Sea Grant

2020/01/17 – NC Sea Grant News
NC Sea Grant Announces 2020–2022 Core Research Projects

ncsg

North Carolina Sea Grant’s core research projects for 2020 to 2022 will apply innovative approaches to coastal issues. Research teams across the state are starting new studies on coastal resilience, climate change, flooding, shellfish and aquaculture, environmental literacy and more.

“Our core research examines real-world needs of our coastal communities and ecosystems,” says Susan White, executive director of North Carolina Sea Grant. “We are pleased to have so many multidisciplinary collaborations that address our program’s strategic focus areas.”

Seminar: UNC Wilmington

Posters: ASBPA Coastal Conference 2019

CA Rucker, N Tull, JC Dietrich, R Luettich, R Cyriac. “Improving the accuracy of a real-time ADCIRC storm surge downscaling model.” ASBPA 2019 National Coastal Conference, Myrtle Beach SC, 23 October 2019.

Improving the accuracy of a real-time ADCIRC storm surge downscaling model.

JL Woodruff, JC Dietrich, AB Kennedy, D Wirasaet, D Bolster, Z Silver, RL Kolar. “Improving predictions of coastal flooding via sub-mesh corrections.” ASBPA 2019 National Coastal Conference, Myrtle Beach SC, 23 October 2019.

Improving predictions of coastal flooding via sub-mesh corrections.

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Sustainability of Barrier Island Protection Policies under Changing Climates

This project will address methods to adapt beach and dune nourishment to improve resilience in a changing climate. As storms become more powerful and seas continue to rise, major erosion events will occur more frequently. However, coastal communities do not yet understand how to evaluate their increasing vulnerabilities and adapt their long-term planning. In this project, we will identify the climate patterns that most often trigger the need to nourish, the variability of the time interval between such nourishments, and the economic costs and sediment volumes necessary to maintain this coastal protection policy into the 21st century.

A stochastic climate emulator will first be developed to simulate 1000s of realizations of chronological climate patterns (forced by satellite and GCM products) to create future storm events coupled with sea level rise scenarios. A library of high fidelity, open source, hydrodynamic and morphodynamic simulations (ADCIRC+SWAN and XBeach) will then be used to develop a surrogate model to predict erosion and flooding for each future realization. Triggers like beach width, dune height, and community preferences will be used to identify how often communities will need to re-nourish, contingent on future climate and sea level rise scenario.

JC Dietrich, DL Anderson. “Sustainability of Barrier Island Protection Policies under Changing Climates.” U.S. Coastal Research Program, 2019 Academic Research Opportunities, 2019/10/18 to 2021/10/17, $226,624 (Dietrich: $226,624).