scholarly journals RECONNAISSANCE LEVEL STUDY MISSISSIPPI STORM SURGE BARRIER

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (33) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathijs Van Ledden ◽  
Joost Lansen ◽  
Hennes De Ridder ◽  
Billy Edge
Keyword(s):  
New Orleans ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Storm Surge ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Levee System ◽  
Feasible Alternative ◽  
Hurricane Storm Surge ◽  
The City

This paper reports a reconnaissance level study of a storm surge barrier in the Mississippi River. Historical hurricanes have shown storm surge of several meters along the Mississippi River levees up to and upstream of New Orleans. Future changes due to sea level rise and subsidence will further increase the risk of flooding due to hurricane storm surge. A surge barrier downstream of New Orleans has been considered as an alternative to levee raise along the Mississippi River. Hydraulic computations show that the build-up of water behind the barrier due to the Mississippi River flow is (much) lower than the hurricane surge protruding up the river in the no-barrier situation. The barrier will probably eliminate the need to upgrade the system upstream of the barrier while providing the same level of hurricane risk reduction. A hybrid barrier (a combination of different gate types) with a primary swing gate for navigation (and flow) and secondary lift gates to accommodate for flow is a technically feasible alternative. The barrier remains open for almost the entire year and would only to be closed during severe tropical events (say once every 2 - 3 years). Several measures are included in the conceptual design to mitigate the navigation impact. The construction costs of the barrier are estimated at $1.6 - 2.6 billion. It is recommended to compare the investment costs of a barrier including adjacent tie-ins to the existing HSDRRS to the costs of upgrading and maintaining the levee system throughout the city of New Orleans.

The 2006 New Orleans Mayoral Election: The Political Ramifications of a Large-Scale Natural Disaster

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (04) ◽  
pp. 795-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Vanderleeuw ◽  
Baodong Liu ◽  
Erica Williams
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Storm Surge ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Mayoral Election ◽  
The City

On Monday, August 29, 2005, the Gulf Coast of the United States was hit by the sixth most destructive Atlantic hurricane on record, Hurricane Katrina. Katrina formed in the Bahamas on August 23 and entered the Gulf of Mexico two days later, on the twenty-fifth (Knabb 2005). Twelve hours after entering the gulf, Katrina grew from a Category 3 to a Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds up to 160 miles per hour. Katrina made landfall on the twenty-ninth as a powerful Category 3 storm with winds up to 145 miles per hour. However, once Katrina made landfall she maintained a storm surge equivalent to a Category 5 storm. For the city of New Orleans, the greatest threat without question was to be from the storm surge. Lake Pontchartrain—which normally sits at one foot above sea level—was elevated to eight and a half feet above sea level. On Tuesday, August 30, the city's levees broke in three places—along the Industrial Canal, the 17thStreet Canal, and the London Street Canal (Mihelich 2005). As a result, 80% of the city was flooded, in some places with water as high as 20 feet above sea level (Knabb 2005).

scholarly journals A Basin- to Channel-Scale Unstructured Grid Hurricane Storm Surge Model Applied to Southern Louisiana

2008 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 833-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joannes J. Westerink ◽  
Richard A. Luettich ◽  
Jesse C. Feyen ◽  
John H. Atkinson ◽  
Clint Dawson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Storm Surge ◽  
Unstructured Grid ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Skill Assessment ◽  
Open Boundary ◽  
Wind Fields ◽  
Hurricane Wind ◽  
Hurricane Storm Surge ◽  
Southern Louisiana

Abstract Southern Louisiana is characterized by low-lying topography and an extensive network of sounds, bays, marshes, lakes, rivers, and inlets that permit widespread inundation during hurricanes. A basin- to channel-scale implementation of the Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) unstructured grid hydrodynamic model has been developed that accurately simulates hurricane storm surge, tides, and river flow in this complex region. This is accomplished by defining a domain and computational resolution appropriate for the relevant processes, specifying realistic boundary conditions, and implementing accurate, robust, and highly parallel unstructured grid numerical algorithms. The model domain incorporates the western North Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea so that interactions between basins and the shelf are explicitly modeled and the boundary condition specification of tidal and hurricane processes can be readily defined at the deep water open boundary. The unstructured grid enables highly refined resolution of the complex overland region for modeling localized scales of flow while minimizing computational cost. Kinematic data assimilative or validated dynamic-modeled wind fields provide the hurricane wind and pressure field forcing. Wind fields are modified to incorporate directional boundary layer changes due to overland increases in surface roughness, reduction in effective land roughness due to inundation, and sheltering due to forested canopies. Validation of the model is achieved through hindcasts of Hurricanes Betsy and Andrew. A model skill assessment indicates that the computed peak storm surge height has a mean absolute error of 0.30 m.

scholarly journals Dynamic modeling of barrier island response to hurricane storm surge under future sea level rise

2018 ◽  
Vol 149 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 413-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davina L. Passeri ◽  
Matthew V. Bilskie ◽  
Nathaniel G. Plant ◽  
Joseph W. Long ◽  
Scott C. Hagen
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Storm Surge ◽  
Dynamic Modeling ◽  
Barrier Island ◽  
Hurricane Storm Surge

scholarly journals The large-scale impact of climate change to Mississippi flood hazard in New Orleans

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. A. Driessen ◽  
M. van Ledden
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Flood Hazard ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
High Flows ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The objective of this paper was to describe the impact of climate change on the Mississippi River flood hazard in the New Orleans area. This city has a unique flood risk management challenge, heavily influenced by climate change, since it faces flood hazards from multiple geographical locations (e.g. Lake Pontchartrain and Mississippi River) and multiple sources (hurricane, river, rainfall). Also the low elevation and significant subsidence rate of the Greater New Orleans area poses a high risk and challenges the water management of this urban area. Its vulnerability to flooding became dramatically apparent during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 with huge economic losses and a large number of casualties. A SOBEK Rural 1DFLOW model was set up to simulate the general hydrodynamics. This model included the two important spillways that are operated during high flow conditions. A weighted multi-criteria calibration procedure was performed to calibrate the model for high flows. Validation for floods in 2011 indicated a reasonable performance for high flows and clearly demonstrated the influence of the spillways. 32 different scenarios were defined which included the relatively large sea level rise and the changing discharge regime that is expected due to climate change. The impact of these scenarios on the water levels near New Orleans were analysed by the hydrodynamic model. Results showed that during high flows New Orleans will not be affected by varying discharge regimes, since the presence of the spillways ensures a constant discharge through the city. In contrary, sea level rise is expected to push water levels upwards. The effect of sea level rise will be noticeable even more than 470 km upstream. Climate change impacts necessitate a more frequent use of the spillways and opening strategies that are based on stages.

Simulating Hurricane Storm Surge in the Lower Mississippi River under Varying Flow Conditions

2013 ◽  
Vol 139 (5) ◽  
pp. 492-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Martyr ◽  
J. C. Dietrich ◽  
J. J. Westerink ◽  
P. C. Kerr ◽  
C. Dawson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Storm Surge ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Lower Mississippi River ◽  
Hurricane Storm Surge
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