Sediment transport and bed erosion during storm surge using a coupled hydrodynamic and morphodynamic model considering wave and current interaction

Storm surge, a major disaster in coastal areas, is generated by tropical cyclones. Strong currents and waves during storm surges often cause sediment transport and beach erosion, significantly damaging the coastal ecosystem. This paper presents a flow-wave-sediment-morphodynamic coupled model to predict morphody-namic changes caused by overwash during storm surges. In the model, the flow field is calculated using the generalized shallow water equations coupled with the Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model, while sediment transport and bed changes are computed using a non-equilibrium total-load sediment transport model. The model solves the governing equations by employing the explicit finite-volume approach based on a rect-angular mesh. The Godunov-type central upwind scheme is adopted to calculate the interface fluxes, thereby solving the complex Riemann problem. A series of numerical experiments considering wave-induced longshore current and short-term bed erosion are conducted to validate the established model and demonstrate its ability to simulate waves, flow fields, and bed changes during storm surge. Specifically, we used the model to simulate the morphological evolution of the Santa Rosa barrier island caused by Hurricane Ivan's storm surge, and the results indicate that the model accurately predicts the real-case erosion process caused by storm surge and overwash during the hurricane. The simulated results clearly explain overwash development, including washover fans, foredune erosion, and back-barrier deposition. It demonstrates that the front dune significantly eroded with the Santa Rosa barrier island coastline retreating by a maximum of about 80 m during the storm surge. More than three breaches with a width of up to 135 m were formed on the sandy barrier due to wave overwash, while the topography at the breach changed significantly.

Automated summary

This study presents a coupled model to predict morphodynamic changes during storm surges. The model accurately simulates the morphological evolution of the Santa Rosa barrier island caused by Hurricane Ivan's storm surge.