Coastal Hydrodynamic Modeling (ROMS; SCHISM; ADCIRC)

Coastal Hydrodynamic Modeling (ROMS; SCHISM; ADCIRC)

Description

Coastal and shelf circulation models each make different tradeoffs — grid type, resolution, computational cost, and which physics they resolve well — so I match the model to the domain and the question being asked rather than defaulting to one system:

  • ROMS — 3D shelf circulation on a structured curvilinear grid, currently configured for the Texas-Louisiana shelf (the same domain used in Regional Forecast System) and for an operational forecast of the New York Bight (see Regional Operational Ocean Forecast for New York Bight). In both cases the model runs on a rolling forecast cycle, forced by NOAA GFS atmospheric data and Copernicus open-boundary conditions with OSU TPXO tides, and checked daily against water-level, current, and temperature observations.
  • SCHISM-WWM — general-purpose coastal and estuarine circulation on an unstructured grid, which handles complex coastlines and variable resolution (fine nearshore, coarse offshore) more naturally than a structured grid. Configured for the New York Bight, and used as the regional layer in Hurricane Ike Beach and Dune Erosion Modeling on Bolivar Peninsula (XBeach) to drive a high-resolution local storm-impact model.
  • ADCIRC — storm surge and inundation modeling; see Hurricane Wave and Storm Surge Modeling for the coupled ADCIRC-SWAN storm-surge setup for Galveston Bay.

The same toolkit extends to standalone wave modeling with SWAN (nearshore/shelf) and WaveWatch III (global/regional) when a project needs wave fields without a coupled circulation run.

Example

Thumbnail: South Carolina intracoastal waterway — public domain (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Gentry George), via Wikimedia Commons.

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