Applied Mathematics seminar | Ryan Mulligan, Coastal responses to hurricane forcing from beaches to estuaries

Hurricanes deliver intense winds that can generate some of the most severe surface wave and storm surge conditions in the coastal ocean. Surface wave breaking induces large gradients in wave momentum that generate strong currents in the nearshore zone, capable of erosion and transport of sediments, while storm surges drive flooding that can cause severe damage to the environment and to urban infrastructure. Using results from observations and numerical models, this talk will examine the fluid forcing processes, momentum balances, hydrodynamic responses and morphological responses to major storm events on both sides of a barrier island system in North Carolina from an exposed ocean beach to a semi-protected estuary.

*This is a joint event with The Water Institute and Faculty of Engineering