Presentation Abstract
There have been on-going efforts for increasing coastal resilience to the risk of coastal inundation as a result of sea-level rise in Washington. Accurate coastal risk projection depends on detailed and accurate information of sea level rise, including waves and storm surge induced by windstorms. This paper presents a modeling study simulating wind-induced waves in the Salish Sea. A nested-grid modeling approach was used to provide accurate and robust model simulations at various scales. The NOAA NCEP’s WaveWatch III (WW3) model is configured at global and regional scales with wind forcing obtained from the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR). For the Salish Sea and Washington outer coast, a high-resolution wave model is implemented with the Unstructured Simulating WAve Nearshore (UnSWAN) model. The Salish Sea wave model is driven by spectral open boundary conditions from the nested regional WW3 models. To further improve the model accuracy inside the Salish Sea, sea surface winds were obtained from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) historical model simulation covering the entire west coast at a resolution of 6-km resolution. These were used to drive the Salish Sea UnSWAN model. Comparisons of model results with observed wave data at available buoy stations indicated that the model successfully reproduced the wave climates in the Salish Sea. Wave characteristics and exposure areas of large waves in the Salish Sea were analyzed based on model results simulated from 2011 to 2015.
Session Title
Integrated Coastal Climate Change Modeling for Salish Sea Planning: Part II
Keywords
Waves, Modeling, Extreme event
Conference Track
SSE5: Climate Change: Impacts, Adaptation, and Research
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE5-230
Start Date
6-4-2018 1:30 PM
End Date
6-4-2018 1:45 PM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Wind waves--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)--Simulation methods; Flood control--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)--Simulation methods; Ocean currents--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Modeling wind-induced waves in the Salish Sea
There have been on-going efforts for increasing coastal resilience to the risk of coastal inundation as a result of sea-level rise in Washington. Accurate coastal risk projection depends on detailed and accurate information of sea level rise, including waves and storm surge induced by windstorms. This paper presents a modeling study simulating wind-induced waves in the Salish Sea. A nested-grid modeling approach was used to provide accurate and robust model simulations at various scales. The NOAA NCEP’s WaveWatch III (WW3) model is configured at global and regional scales with wind forcing obtained from the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR). For the Salish Sea and Washington outer coast, a high-resolution wave model is implemented with the Unstructured Simulating WAve Nearshore (UnSWAN) model. The Salish Sea wave model is driven by spectral open boundary conditions from the nested regional WW3 models. To further improve the model accuracy inside the Salish Sea, sea surface winds were obtained from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) historical model simulation covering the entire west coast at a resolution of 6-km resolution. These were used to drive the Salish Sea UnSWAN model. Comparisons of model results with observed wave data at available buoy stations indicated that the model successfully reproduced the wave climates in the Salish Sea. Wave characteristics and exposure areas of large waves in the Salish Sea were analyzed based on model results simulated from 2011 to 2015.
