27 Aug 2026

A Science Gateway for CSHORE-VEG

Abstract: This Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) develops a science gateway for coastal scientists and engineers to evaluate the capacity of coastal and marine wetlands in wave-height reduction using a one-dimensional cross-shore profile model, the CSHORE-VEG (Cross-Shore–Vegetation) model (Chen et al. 2025). This gateway comprises a front-end (i.e., web-based graphical user interface [GUI]) and a backend (i.e., models for wave action and vegetation, linkage between CSHORE and vegetation model, postprocessing for vegetation breakage evaluation, etc.). The GUI, built upon the Jupyter Notebook, streamlines the workflow of model configuration, execution, and output visualization, so that users can quickly make use of CSHORE-VEG, regardless of their prior knowledge of the model. Two examples with laboratory and field wave conditions are provided in this CHETN to guide users through the diverse functionality of this gateway.

3 Aug 2026

Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) Barrier Island Restoration Long-Term Directional Wave, Circulation, and Water Level Analysis

Abstract: The Mississippi Sound barrier islands, including Ship Island, protect the Mississippi coast from wave-induced erosion during storms. Hurricane Camille (1969) breached Ship Island, and Hurricane Katrina (2005) widened the Camille Cut, increasing the mainland coast’s exposure to waves. To protect the coast, the US Army Corps of Engineers filled the cut with sand and restored Ship Island to its pre-Camille condition in 2020. To evaluate changes in wave height and potential changes in tides and residual currents, field observations via moorings and roving surveys were conducted pre- (2014–2016) and postrestoration (2022–2024). The tidal range and currents were found to be similar pre- and postrestoration, with slight decreases behind Ship Island. Behind and in front of Ship Is-land, the tidal ellipses shifted to being more shore parallel. The residual currents were primarily wind driven and showed little change in magnitude and direction around Ship Island during both summer and winter conditions. Waves passing through the Camille Cut were reduced, and the ratio of significant wave height behind to in front of Ship Island decreased from 0.40 to 0.25 following restoration. The Ship Island restoration reduced wave heights without significantly changing the tidal and residual currents in the Mississippi Sound.

21 Jan 2026

Development of Tidal and Surge Forcing in Boussinesq Wave Model FUNWAVE-TVD

PURPOSE: This Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) documents the development of the tidal and surge-forcing module in the Boussinesq wave model FUNWAVE–Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) for wind-wave simulations, subjected to large-scale boundary forcing conditions. In a series of recent projects undertaken by the Coastal Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL) of the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), there was a need to model wind waves under time-varying boundary conditions due to tides, storm surges, or strong background flows. The implications on wave runup and overtopping (flooding) around inlets, due to the interaction of tide or surge-driven flows and waves (wave-current interactions), make the need for the development of surge and tide forcing vital to modeling waves with a Boussinesq-type model like FUNWAVE-TVD. Furthermore, strong velocity flows (currents) are not only responsible for depth-limited wave transformation and breaking at inlets but also directly influence sediment transport. Most phase-resolving wave models cannot facilitate these kinds of simulations because the wavemaker cannot generate the phase-resolving wave conditions and low-frequency motions (e.g., tides) at the same time. For example, in FUNWAVE-TVD, the combination of an internal wavemaker and a sponge layer is used to generate wind waves in the shoreward direction while absorbing waves with the sponge layer in the seaward direction behind the wavemaker. However, this type of combined system of wave generation and absorption cannot readily incorporate the external low-frequency forcing into wave generation.

10 Dec 2025

A Qualitative Comparison Review Between Commonly Used Boussinesq Models

Abstract: The purpose of this Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) is to summarize the Boussinesq models FUNWAVE, Coulwave, and Celeris. This CHETN outlines the governing equations and numerical schemes for each model and presents the order of their error terms. A qualitative comparison was completed between the fully nonlinear models, FUNWAVE and Coulwave, and the weakly nonlinear model, Celeris. Results from this comparison demonstrate capabilities for each model by comparing previously published benchmark validation cases. The discussion section highlights additional areas of research and report recommendations.

10 Dec 2025

Evaluation of Vegetated Shoreline Capacity Using CSHORE-VEG

Abstract: A versatile vegetation module has been implemented into the Cross-Shore model (CSHORE) to evaluate the capacity of coastal and marine wetlands with respect to wave-height attenuation and wave-runup reduction. This extended model, Cross-Shore-Vegetation (CSHORE-VEG), is capable of simulating the effects of rigid and flexible vegetation with spatially varying biomechanical properties. To accurately estimate the vegetation-induced energy dissipation rate, a drag coefficient formula that is independent of the vegetation flexibility was developed based on field data collected in salt marshes in Terrebonne Bay, Louisiana, during a tropical storm. This universal drag coefficient formula along with other existing drag coefficient formulas have been implemented into CSHORE-VEG to meet different needs. CSHORE-VEG has been validated against four independent datasets involving different vegetation properties for wave attenuation and mean water level change. After achieving good agreement in model-data comparisons, CSHORE-VEG was employed to quantify the capacity of two representative salt marshes composed of Spartina alterniflora and Elymus athericus for wave attenuation. As a result, two ineffective vegetated shoreline scenarios were identified. Furthermore, a procedure for determining the percentage of broken vegetation stems and modeling the corresponding wave-height reduction was applied to evaluate the wave-height reduction under realistic field conditions.

2 Dec 2024

Establishing a Workflow for Near-Seamless Digital Elevation Model Creation in the Great Lakes for ADCIRC Modeling

Abstract: This report introduces a workflow to create near-seamless, regional digital elevation models (DEMs) for use in coupled Advanced Circulation and Simulating Waves Nearshore modeling. The workflow is based in Esri ArcGIS Pro, leveraging the Mosaic Dataset architecture to organize and mosaic survey data sets into near-seamless DEMs. This workflow includes data collection and preprocessing, creation of source and derived mosaic data sets, manual editing of the data set seamlines, the creation of spatial metadata products, and quality assurance and control measures. These steps were implemented for each Great Lake to provide a high-resolution, near-seamless DEM product for modelers. The workflow may also have utility for other regional-scale investigations.

16 Jul 2024

Evaluation of the Version 1 Advanced Tactical Awareness Kit–Expeditionary Radar (ATAK-ER V1) for Accuracy and Reliability in Surf-Zone Characterization in a Range of Environmental Conditions

Abstract: This Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) presents the evaluation of a rapidly deployable radar and associated software for characterizing surf-zone waves, currents, and bathymetries at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL), Field Research Facility (FRF), in Duck, North Carolina. This project was conducted at the request of the US Marine Corps (USMC) Warfighting Laboratory. The Version 1 Advanced Tactical Awareness Kit–Radar Expeditionary (ATAK-ER V1) system was deployed 15 times between July and August 2023 to observe a range of wave, water level, and wind conditions that could each affect radar processing. Products from the system were then compared to the FRF’s continuously operating in situ instruments and monthly bathymetric surveys to quantify the accuracy and reliability of the output. A number of issues with the unit are identified, including potential error sources contributing to inaccuracies, but the black-box nature of the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) unit prevents a confident understanding of why wave heights are underpredicted (by 65% on average), why bathymetries consistently have root-mean-square errors (RMSE) over 1 m with progressively greater errors with distance offshore, or why some collections are unable to generate all of the advertised products. This Version 1 COTS unit is not recommended for operational use at this time.

25 Jun 2024

US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Wave Information Study: 2021 Annual Update

Purpose: This Coastal and Hydraulics Engineering Technical Note (CHETN) describes the 2021 Wave Information Study (WIS) annual update. Within this CHETN, we summarize the WIS input data, explain the model technologies, detail the quality control / quality assurance (QA/QC), and provide statistical evaluation of the 2021 WIS estimates as compared to in situ buoys and remotely sensed satellite altimeter data.

10 Jun 2024

Getting Started with FUNWAVE-TVD: Troubleshooting Guidance and Recommendations

Abstract: This technical note reviews some common initialization errors when first getting started with the numerical wave model, FUNWAVE-TVD (Fully Nonlinear Wave model–Total Variation Diminishing), and provides guidance for correcting these errors. Recommendations for troubleshooting the source or cause of instabilities in an application of the model as well as recognizing the difference between physical and numerical instabilities are also outlined and discussed. In addition, a quick start troubleshooting guide is provided in the Appendix. This guidance is particularly useful for novice to intermediate users of FUNWAVE-TVD who are less familiar with the workflow of setting up the model and interpreting error output statements.

28 May 2024

Statistical Analysis of Storm Surge and Seiche Hazards for Lake Erie

Abstract: Storm surge and seiche events are generally forced by severe storms, initially resulting in a wind-driven super elevation of water level on one or more sides of a lake (surge) followed by a rebound and periodic oscillation of water levels between opposing sides of the lake (seiche). These events have caused flooding along Lake Erie and significant damages to coastal communities and infrastructure. This study builds upon statistical analysis methods initially developed for the 2012 federal interagency Great Lakes Coastal Flood Study. Using the Coastal Hazards System's stochastic Storm Simulation (StormSim) suite of tools, including the Probabilistic Simulation Technique (PST), and regional frequency model, historical extreme events were assessed in a local frequency analysis and a regional frequency analysis to quantify the annual exceedance frequency (AEF) of WLD events specific to Lake Erie. The objective of this study was to quantify AEFs of storm surge and seiche hazards to provide a better understanding of these events to aid flood mitigation and risk reduction for lakeside properties.