Hurricane Harvey And Storm Surge
Oral
Joannes Westerink, MS, PhD
Ahearn Professor
University of Notre Dame
William Pringle, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Notre Dame
The western coastline of Alaska spans a diverse topography ranging from low lying tundra to sharp volcanic relief, including areas highly susceptible to powerful storms causing coastal flooding and erosion. To better understand the multi-scale and interactive physics of the deep ocean, continental shelf, near shore, and coast, an unstructured grid hydrodynamic model has been developed using the finite element, free surface circulation code ADCIRC coupled to the WAVEWATCH III third generation non-phase resolving wave code. This high resolution, accurate, and robust computational model of Alaska's coastal environment simulates tides, storm surges, and storm waves as well as their coupling.