Author(s): Wen-Cheng Liu; Wei-Che Huang
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Typhoon; Storm surge; Wave; ADCIRC; SWAN; Coast of Taiwan
Abstract: Storm surges correspond to the abnormal variations in the ocean free-surface driven by atmospheric forcing, wind stress, earth rotation, and wave associated with typhoons. At low-lying coasts, the largest damages are associated with storm surge and subsequent flooding rather than direct wind effects, particularly if the surges meet high tides. However, the storm surge model takes into account atmospheric forcing, wind stress, and earth rotation, but does not include wave forcing. In this study, the coupling storm surge (ADCIRC) and wave (SWAN) model was developed to simulate the water level along Taiwan’s coast. First, the ADCIRC model was calibrated and verified with the observed tidal levels. Then, the coupling model was calibrated and verified with the observed tidal levels, wave heights, and wave periods at four gauge stations to ascertain the capability of the model. Two criteria (i.e. Root Means Square Error, RMSE and skill) were adopted to evaluate the model’s performance. The results show that the simulated and observed data are in reasonable agreement. The validated model was then applied to investigate the influence of coupling model on storm surge during Typhoon Jangmi (2008) and Typhoon Morakot (2009). We found that the coupling model more accurately simulated the storm surges along the coast of Taiwan.
Year: 2018