InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society > Student Materials > Multi-Layered Defenses > University Park ONLY: Formative Assessment > Modeling Storm Surge
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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Modeling Storm Surge

The next step is to plug your number into the storm surge model.

The three parameters to be entered in the model are:

  1. Water depth (the depth of the water at the deepest point before storm surge (10 m depth in our example)
  2. Wind velocity (m/s)
  3. Bed slope (as calculated above)

In order to understand the relationships between wind, bed slope and storm surge, we will first plot some numbers.

a. Slope vs. Surge Height at 10m Water Depth

h0 (m)10
SlopeSurge (m)
0.000854 2.0838
0.0004273.4085
0.0002145.4705
0.000107 8.613

b. Wind Speed vs. Surge Height at 10m Water Depth

slope0.00016
h0 (m)10
u10 (m/s)Surge (m)
20.0685
50.3109
100.9215
202.5631
406.6233
8015.67

Investigating influence of wind speed and slope on storm surge:

Use Excel to plot the two sets of numbers above. Once you have done that, answer the following questions about the plot in your worksheet.

  1. Describe the relationships you see.
  2. Using the storm surge model, manipulate the height of the storm surge by entering each of the numbers in the data sets above in turn. Watch how the storm surge changes as you enter different values for wind speed and slope.
  3. In what way does the angle of the slope of the bed or shoreline influence the height of the storm surge?
  4. In what way does the wind speed affect the height of the storm surge?

These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »