Hurricane Florence Numerical Modeling
Building a state-of-the-art model
USGS, NCSU, LSU, and UCAR have partnered in this project to develop new tools to enhance simulations of the complex coupled hydrologic and ocean processes during coastal storms.
During coastal storms compound effects of river flooding and ocean surge can be extremely hazardous to people and vulnerable infrastructure. Flooding may also lead to release of inland water carrying pollutants, sediment, organic matter, and other debris to the coastal ocean causing adverse impacts on the ecosystem that last longer than the duration of the event.
The state-of-the-art model under development involves integrating a hydrologic model, which can model land surface water dynamics, into the framework of the Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Wave Sediment Transport modeling system (COAWST), which is a combination of atmospheric, waves and ocean circulation models. This offers the potential to investigate the role of three-dimensional land-ocean interaction processes in coastal storm hazards.
