WAVES IN WETLANDS: HURRICANE GUSTAV

Abstract

Few wave measurements have been made in wetlands during high-energy, surge events, such as hurricanes. During Hurricane Gustav in 2008, many nearshore wave measurements were made in Southeastern Louisiana. These data are used to verify a nearshore wave modeling system and to explore the characteristics of hurricane waves in wetlands. The modeling system consists of the wave generation model WAM, the nearhsore wave model STWAVE, and the circulation model ADCIRC. The measurements confirm reasonable success in modeling the waves. The measurements and modeling also expose some of the problems of measuring waves in highly-variable water depths under hurricane forcing and modeling waves in rapidly degrading wetlands.