An Instrumented Coastal Process Modeling Test Bed US Army Corps of Engineers BUILDING STRONG ® Jeff Hanson U. S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Coastal and Hydraulics Lab (CHL) Field Research Facility

BUILDING STRONG ® Outline  Test Bed Concept - IOOS  FRF Observations - NOPP  Model Validation Tools – USACE  Coastal Wave Modeling – NWS  Storm Surge Studies - FEMA  Collaboration Opportunities

Coastal Process Modeling Test Bed Analysis Performance Evaluation Model Diagnostics Interactive Model Evaluation and Diagnostics System (IMEDS) IOOS Data Bank Regional Observations Storm Surge Modeling System WavesCirculation Atmosphere Morphology Research

Nearshore Acoustic Array ( m depth) 17-m Datawell Waverider 26-m Datawell Waverider 26-m Weather Station 48-m NDBC Data Collections FRF Cross-Shelf Wave and Current Array Pier Near continuous operation since July m 1 Paros Pressure gage 2 Nortek Aquadopp sensors 4 Nortek AWAC sensors 2 Datawell Waverider buoys NDBC Station Pier-based meteorological station ARGUS Video system 24/7 Real-time data processing Monthly bathy surveys

Hurricane Earl: 3 September 2010

Waves Project Status Hs (m) Nor’Ida Bill Earl Igor 2010 Accomplishment: Constructed database with search utilities 2011 Activities: Event Climatology and NCEP Data Archive Event Descriptors: Wave ht and period Event duration Sea, swell or mixed Wind conditions Database Contents: Time series Spectra Met Currents Water levels Argus imagery

Interactive Model Evaluation and Diagnostics System  Stand-alone desktop model validation toolkit  Based on NOAA Hydrographic Standards  Temporal, distribution, and peak event analyses  Robust error metrics and skill scores  Evaluate winds, waves, and water levels Recent IMEDS Applications  Coastal wave forecast system (NWS)  Storm surge forecast system (IOOS)  WaveWatch III validation (NCEP)  Storm surge risk assessment (FEMA)  Inundation model testbed (SURA NOPP)  Wave hindcast validation (USACE)  Offshore energy production (BOEMRE, NC State)

Operational AutoMEDS Demonstration IOOS Storm Surge Application Skill Scores Update with each Model Run

Operational AutoMEDS Demonstration Validation Station Page Peak Water Levels All Stations NOS Water Level Station

Project Objectives COMET Project: Coastal Wave Modeling for NWS Develop coastal wave model application for Wakefield, Morehead City and Wilmington WFOs Access SWAN performance and optimize model configurations Transition technology to NWS for operational use

Model Configuration COMET Project: Coastal Wave Modeling for NWS 4 Operational grids 14-km Outer grid 2.5-km Inner grids Run 4x/day or on demand Project Status Fully operational at WFOs Final project report submitted

USACE/NOAA Collaboration: USACE Wave Partitioning for NWS  Operational wave partitioning for WAVEWATCH III (~2007)  Offline SWAN partitioning in regional NWS offices (2008)  Delivered prototype partitioning code for SWAN (2011)  Request to develop prototype spatial/temporal wave system tracking for WAVEWATCH III/SWAN (2011)

BUILDING STRONG ® Coastal Storm Surge Hazard Assessments  Extensive coastal storm surge modeling program  Development of state-of-the-art tools  Extensive national work for FEMA Flood Insurance Rate studies: o Gulf States o East Coast o Great Lakes  Research and development topics include o Atmospheric drag during high winds o Nonlinear and shallow water wave transformations o Marsh effects o Coastal morphology and erosion

Region III Modeling System Validation Isabel

BUILDING STRONG ® NWS / USACE Collaboration Ideas  Advancement of model validation tools – collaborate on a state-of-the-art desktop tool that integrates NOAA Skill Assessment Package into IMEDS with a modern GUI  Shared model test and evaluation testbed – a collaborative environment for model test and evaluation with shared data archive and common validation tools  Development and implementation of wave system tracking in numerical wave models

BUILDING STRONG ® Thank You Working across agencies to bring observations and models together in a natural coastal laboratory… USACE Field Research Facility