Compound inundation models have been developed and applied around the world in rich-data regions. However, there are many places, like in the Caribbean, where compound hydrodynamics has not been studied in full detail. For example, Cuba is next to the Florida Panhandle, and their corresponding inundation hydrodynamics could be very similar or not during the same meteorological event. Tropical cyclones form near the west coast of Africa and travel through the Atlantic Ocean. Some potential hurricane tracks could affect the Caribbean islands while also impacting the US East Coast or the Gulf of Mexico. Therefore, a knowledge gap exists on how a single atmospheric event could produce various responses along the neighboring islands and the US mainland.
As an initial case study, We are assessing the coastal inundation along two different regions of Cuba: La Habana (northwest region) and the Gulf of Batabano (southwest region), which are separated only by 56 km or a 1-hour drive. As part of the research, We will develop an unstructured mesh around this region using the programming language MATLAB. Then, we will model the coastal inundation using the ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) hydrodynamic model to simulate various hurricanes that have affected the region. Future work will implement Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model and a rainfall-runoff module.
Team Members
UGA: Dr. Felix Santiago-Collazo
Universidad Tecnológica de La Habana: Dr. Luis Cordova-Lopez (Director of CIH Maritime and Coastal Engineering Research Group), Daniela Cordova de Horta