Poster: Gulf of Mexico 2016

JC Dietrich, A Muhammad, M Curcic, A Fathi, CN Dawson, SS Chen, RA Luettich Jr (2016). “Sensitivity of Storm Surge Predictions to Atmospheric Forcing during Hurricane Isaac (2012).” Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, Tampa, Florida, 01-03 February 2016.

Interactions between Waves, Flooding and Beach Morphology during Storm Events

Our goal is to improve simulations of coastal flooding in regions where the beach morphology is highly dynamic during a storm event. The feedback between waves, surge and morphology must be better linked, specifically through the extension and coupling of state-of-the-art numerical models. Although most morphology models are limited in their geographic extents, we will extend and apply a process-driven model to represent erosion and breaching at larger scales. And, although most wave, surge and morphology models are coupled with one-way communication, we will develop an automated system to map information in both ways. This research will produce modeling technologies that will benefit coastal communities within North Carolina, and we will share these technologies and findings with stakeholders. Simulations of wave propagation and flooding (and specifically the simulations from our models) are used in North Carolina and elsewhere for building design, the establishment of flood insurance rates, and real-time decision support during storm events. These predictions will be strengthened via the proposed tight coupling with a beach morphology model. The resulting modeling system will better represent the nearshore response to storm impacts.

JC Dietrich, MF Overton, RA Luettich Jr. “Interactions between Waves, Flooding and Beach Morphology during Storm Events.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, North Carolina Sea Grant, 2015/07/02, $98,225 (Dietrich: $88,378).

Improving the Efficiency of Wave and Surge Models via Adaptive Mesh Resolution

The goal of this project is to improve the efficiencies of the widely-used SWAN+ADCIRC models for hurricane waves and storm surge. This goal will be achieved through the use of adaptive mesh resolution and dynamic redistribution of the computational load across multiple processing cores. The objectives of the research are to (a) optimize the computational workload of storm surge calculations by modifying adaptively the mesh resolution as dictated by storm track and cone of uncertainty, and (b) to do so in a way that does not sacrifice parallel efficiency.

RA Luettich Jr, G Smith, et al. “Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence at UNC.” Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate, 2016/01/01 to 2020/06/30, (Dietrich: $470,000).

Presentation: CARTHE 2015

JC Dietrich, A Muhammad, M Curcic, A Fathi, CN Dawson, S Chen, RA Luettich Jr. “Sensitivity of Storm Surge Predictions to Meteorological Forcing for Hurricane Isaac (2012).” CARTHE All-Hands Meeting, Coral Gables, Florida, 19 October 2015.

Please click here for more information about CARTHE.

Conference: YCSEC-NA 2015

R Cyriac, JC Dietrich, JG Fleming, BO Blanton, RA Luettich, C Kaiser. “Forecast Predictions of Winds, Waves and Storm Surge during Hurricane Arthur (2014).” Young Coastal Scientists and Engineers Conference – North America 2015, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA, 27-29 July 2015.

Conference: ADCIRC 2015

R Cyriac, JC Dietrich, JG Fleming, BO Blanton, RA Luettich, C Kaiser. “Forecast Predictions of Winds, Waves and Storm Surge during Hurricane Arthur (2014).” ADCIRC Users Group Meeting, NOAA Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, College Park, Maryland, 30-31 March 2015.

Continue reading →

Conference: SIAM CSE 2015

R Cyriac, JC Dietrich+, RA Luettich Jr, JG Fleming, BO Blanton. “Strengthening the Hurricane Wave and Surge Forecast Guidance provided to Coastal Communities in North Carolina.” SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering, Salt Lake City, Utah, 16-17 March 2015.

+ Presenter, if other than first author.

News: Developing Storm Surge Visualization

2015/03/10 – CCEE
Developing Storm Surge Visualization

When tropical storms approach, local, state and federal emergency managers seek predictions of storm surge and coastal flooding. In a project supported by NC Sea Grant, Dr. Casey Dietrich and Ph.D. student Rosemary Cyriac are improving the dissemination of flooding predictions to end-users by producing predictions in popular file formats. The Coastal Emergency Risk Assessment (CERA, http://nc-cera.renci.org/) provides a Web-based interface for visualizing surge predictions from computer models. Dr. Dietrich’s team is working with emergency managers in North Carolina’s coastal counties and with other decision makers. Results from daily model simulations are sent to these individuals, and they are widely used to predict inundation and flooding levels. Such predictions are also needed for engineering design and evacuation decisions. Model outputs are converted into formats compatible with commonly used visualization software, such as ArcGIS and Google Earth. By providing predictions to local emergency managers in a useful format, the information can be more easily integrated with other data, thereby making the information more accessible to those who most need it.