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Effects of DEM Resolution on Modeling Coastal Flood Vulnerability

Seenath, Avidesh

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Authors

Avidesh Seenath



Abstract

This article examines whether Digital Elevation Model (DEM) resolution affects the accuracy of predicted coastal inundation extent using LISFLOOD-FP, with application to a sandy coastline in New Jersey. DEMs with resolution ranging from 10 to 100 m were created using coastal elevation data from NOAA, using the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. A two-dimensional hydrodynamic flood model was developed in LISFLOOD-FP using each DEM, all of which were calibrated and validated against an observed 24-h tidal cycle and used to simulate a 1.5 m storm surge. While differences in predicted inundated area from all models were within 1.0%, model performance and computational time worsened and decreased with coarser DEM resolution, respectively. This implied that using a structured grid model for modeling coastal flood vulnerability is based on two trade-offs: high DEM resolution coupled with computational intensity, but higher precision in model predictions, and vice versa. Furthermore, water depth predictions from all DEMs were consistent. Using an integrated numerical modeling and GIS approach, a two-scale modeling strategy, where a coarse DEM is used to predict water levels for projection onto a fine DEM was found to be an effective, and computationally efficient approach for obtaining reliable estimates of coastal inundation extent.

Citation

Seenath, A. (2018). Effects of DEM Resolution on Modeling Coastal Flood Vulnerability. Marine Geodesy, 41(6), 581-604. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490419.2018.1504838

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 22, 2018
Online Publication Date Oct 23, 2018
Publication Date Oct 23, 2018
Deposit Date Feb 7, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Marine Geodesy
Print ISSN 0149-0419
Electronic ISSN 1521-060X
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 41
Issue 6
Pages 581-604
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/01490419.2018.1504838

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