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Computational Challenges in the Geosciences pp 49–70Cite as

Real-Time Forecasting and Visualization of Hurricane Waves and Storm Surge Using SWAN+ADCIRC and FigureGen

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Part of the book series: The IMA Volumes in Mathematics and its Applications ((IMA,volume 156))

Abstract

Storm surge due to hurricanes and tropical storms can result in significant loss of life, property damage, and long-term damage to coastal ecosystems and landscapes. Computer modeling of storm surge is useful for two primary purposes: forecasting of storm impacts for response planning, particularly the evacuation of vulnerable coastal populations; and hindcasting of storms for determining risk, development of mitigation strategies, coastal restoration, and sustainability. Model results must be communicated quickly and effectively, to provide context about the magnitudes and locations of the maximum waves and surges in time for meaningful actions to be taken in the impact region before a storm strikes.In this paper, we present an overview of the SWAN + ADCIRC modeling system for coastal waves and circulation. We also describe FigureGen, a graphics program adapted to visualize hurricane waves and storm surge as computed by these models. The system was applied recently to forecast Hurricane Isaac (2012) as it made landfall in southern Louisiana. Model results are shown to be an accurate warning of the impacts of waves and circulation along the northern Gulf coastline, especially when communicated to emergency managers as geo-referenced images.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by awards from the National Science Foundation (DMS-0915223); the SSPEED Center at Rice University (http://sspeed.rice.edu/); the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (http://gulfresearchinitiative.org/); and the Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence (2008-ST-061-ND 0001). Computational resources were provided by the Texas Advanced Computing Center (http://www.tacc.utexas.edu/) and the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (under award number TG-080016N). Some images were overlaid on the ocean basemap that was designed and developed by Esri [11].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 201 East 24th Street, C0200, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    J. C. Dietrich, C. N. Dawson, J. M. Proft & M. Vitse

  2. Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin, 201 East 24th Street, C0200, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    M. T. Howard & G. Wells

  3. Seahorse Coastal Consulting, Morehead City, NC, USA

    J. G. Fleming

  4. Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    R. A. Luettich Jr.

  5. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, 46556, USA

    J. J. Westerink

  6. Arcadis Inc., Denver, CL, USA

    Z. Cobell & J. H. Atkinson

  7. Renaissance Computing Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    H. Lander & B. O. Blanton

  8. School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    C. M. Szpilka

Authors
  1. J. C. Dietrich
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  2. C. N. Dawson
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  5. G. Wells
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  6. J. G. Fleming
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  7. R. A. Luettich Jr.
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  8. J. J. Westerink
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  11. H. Lander
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  13. C. M. Szpilka
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  14. J. H. Atkinson
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Correspondence to J. C. Dietrich .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas at Austin Institute for Computational Engineering, Austin, USA

    Clint Dawson

  2. Stanford University Department of Energy Resources Engineeri, Stanford, USA

    Margot Gerritsen

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Dietrich, J.C. et al. (2013). Real-Time Forecasting and Visualization of Hurricane Waves and Storm Surge Using SWAN+ADCIRC and FigureGen. In: Dawson, C., Gerritsen, M. (eds) Computational Challenges in the Geosciences. The IMA Volumes in Mathematics and its Applications, vol 156. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7434-0_3

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