Modelling of storm surge in the coastal waters of Yangtze Estuary and Hangzhou Bay, China

The region of Yangtze Estuary and Hangzhou Bay (YE-HB) is subjected to tropical cyclone (TC) impacts during summer almost every year, resulting in extensive loss of life and property. An integrated model system which includes a storm-induced wind model, wave model and hydrodynamic model was developed for storm surge simulation in this area. Nesting computation was adopted for considering the effect of a remote wind field. Wave effects were included by considering radiation stress and enhanced bottom shear stress. Taking Typhoons Agnes (8114) and Matsa (0509) as examples, the model system was applied to the waters of the YE-HB. The calculated results of winds, waves and storm surges agree well with the observed data, which means there is good applicability of the model system for the study area. The distributions of the surge setup were analysed. Finally, the effects of waves and remote winds on storm surge were probed by numerical experiments.