Modeling Storm Surge and Inundation in Washington, DC, during Hurricane Isabel and the 1936 Potomac River Great Flood
Abstract: Washington, DC, the capital of the U.S., is located along the Upper Tidal Potomac River, where a reliable operational model is needed for making predictions of storm surge and river-induced flooding. We set up a finite volume model using a semi-implicit, Eulerian-Lagrangian scheme on a bas...
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ftwilliammarycol:oai:scholarworks.wm.edu:vimsarticles-1234 2024-06-23T07:56:27+00:00 Modeling Storm Surge and Inundation in Washington, DC, during Hurricane Isabel and the 1936 Potomac River Great Flood Wang, Harry V. Loftis, Jon Derek Forrest, David R. Smith, Wade Stamey, Barry 2015-07-01T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/235 https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse3030607 https://scholarworks.wm.edu/context/vimsarticles/article/1234/viewcontent/jmse_03_00607.pdf unknown W&M ScholarWorks https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/235 doi: doi:10.3390/jmse3030607 https://scholarworks.wm.edu/context/vimsarticles/article/1234/viewcontent/jmse_03_00607.pdf VIMS Articles Hurricane Isabel 1936 Potomac River Great Flood sub-grid modeling Physical Sciences Peer-Reviewed Articles Environmental Sciences text 2015 ftwilliammarycol https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse3030607</p>10.3390/jmse3030607 2024-06-05T03:30:42Z Abstract: Washington, DC, the capital of the U.S., is located along the Upper Tidal Potomac River, where a reliable operational model is needed for making predictions of storm surge and river-induced flooding. We set up a finite volume model using a semi-implicit, Eulerian-Lagrangian scheme on a base grid (200 m) and a special feature of sub-grids (10 m), sourced with high-resolution LiDAR data and bathymetry surveys. The model domain starts at the fall line and extends 120 km downstream to Colonial Beach, VA. The model was used to simulate storm tides during the 2003 Hurricane Isabel. The water level measuring 3.1 m reached the upper tidal river in the vicinity of Washington during the peak of the storm, followed by second and third flood peaks two and four days later, resulting from river flooding coming downstream after heavy precipitation in the watershed. The modeled water level and timing were accurate in matching with the verified peak observations within 9 cm and 3 cm, and with R2 equal to 0.93 and 0.98 at the Wisconsin Avenue and Washington gauges, respectively. A simulation was also conducted for reconstructing the historical 1936 Potomac River Great Flood that inundated downtown. It was identified that the flood water, with a velocity exceeding 2.7 m/s in the downstream of Roosevelt Island, pinched through the bank northwest of East Potomac Park near DC. The modeled maximum inundation extents revealed a crescent-shaped flooding area, which was consistent with the historical surveyed flood map of the event. Text Roosevelt Island W&M ScholarWorks Roosevelt Island ENVELOPE(-162.000,-162.000,-79.283,-79.283) |
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Open Polar |
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W&M ScholarWorks |
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ftwilliammarycol |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Hurricane Isabel 1936 Potomac River Great Flood sub-grid modeling Physical Sciences Peer-Reviewed Articles Environmental Sciences |
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Hurricane Isabel 1936 Potomac River Great Flood sub-grid modeling Physical Sciences Peer-Reviewed Articles Environmental Sciences Wang, Harry V. Loftis, Jon Derek Forrest, David R. Smith, Wade Stamey, Barry Modeling Storm Surge and Inundation in Washington, DC, during Hurricane Isabel and the 1936 Potomac River Great Flood |
topic_facet |
Hurricane Isabel 1936 Potomac River Great Flood sub-grid modeling Physical Sciences Peer-Reviewed Articles Environmental Sciences |
description |
Abstract: Washington, DC, the capital of the U.S., is located along the Upper Tidal Potomac River, where a reliable operational model is needed for making predictions of storm surge and river-induced flooding. We set up a finite volume model using a semi-implicit, Eulerian-Lagrangian scheme on a base grid (200 m) and a special feature of sub-grids (10 m), sourced with high-resolution LiDAR data and bathymetry surveys. The model domain starts at the fall line and extends 120 km downstream to Colonial Beach, VA. The model was used to simulate storm tides during the 2003 Hurricane Isabel. The water level measuring 3.1 m reached the upper tidal river in the vicinity of Washington during the peak of the storm, followed by second and third flood peaks two and four days later, resulting from river flooding coming downstream after heavy precipitation in the watershed. The modeled water level and timing were accurate in matching with the verified peak observations within 9 cm and 3 cm, and with R2 equal to 0.93 and 0.98 at the Wisconsin Avenue and Washington gauges, respectively. A simulation was also conducted for reconstructing the historical 1936 Potomac River Great Flood that inundated downtown. It was identified that the flood water, with a velocity exceeding 2.7 m/s in the downstream of Roosevelt Island, pinched through the bank northwest of East Potomac Park near DC. The modeled maximum inundation extents revealed a crescent-shaped flooding area, which was consistent with the historical surveyed flood map of the event. |
format |
Text |
author |
Wang, Harry V. Loftis, Jon Derek Forrest, David R. Smith, Wade Stamey, Barry |
author_facet |
Wang, Harry V. Loftis, Jon Derek Forrest, David R. Smith, Wade Stamey, Barry |
author_sort |
Wang, Harry V. |
title |
Modeling Storm Surge and Inundation in Washington, DC, during Hurricane Isabel and the 1936 Potomac River Great Flood |
title_short |
Modeling Storm Surge and Inundation in Washington, DC, during Hurricane Isabel and the 1936 Potomac River Great Flood |
title_full |
Modeling Storm Surge and Inundation in Washington, DC, during Hurricane Isabel and the 1936 Potomac River Great Flood |
title_fullStr |
Modeling Storm Surge and Inundation in Washington, DC, during Hurricane Isabel and the 1936 Potomac River Great Flood |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modeling Storm Surge and Inundation in Washington, DC, during Hurricane Isabel and the 1936 Potomac River Great Flood |
title_sort |
modeling storm surge and inundation in washington, dc, during hurricane isabel and the 1936 potomac river great flood |
publisher |
W&M ScholarWorks |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/235 https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse3030607 https://scholarworks.wm.edu/context/vimsarticles/article/1234/viewcontent/jmse_03_00607.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-162.000,-162.000,-79.283,-79.283) |
geographic |
Roosevelt Island |
geographic_facet |
Roosevelt Island |
genre |
Roosevelt Island |
genre_facet |
Roosevelt Island |
op_source |
VIMS Articles |
op_relation |
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles/235 doi: doi:10.3390/jmse3030607 https://scholarworks.wm.edu/context/vimsarticles/article/1234/viewcontent/jmse_03_00607.pdf |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse3030607</p>10.3390/jmse3030607 |
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1802649540489117696 |