Modeling of Mitigation Strategies for Tropical Cyclones along the Texas Coast Using the SWAN+ADCIRC Framework

Various mitigation strategies for protecting the Houston-Galveston TX region from future tropical cyclones have been proposed. These include a so-called ''coastal spline" proposed by researchers at Texas A&M University-Galveston, which stretches from the end of Galveston Island, across Bolivar Roads, and to the end of the Bolivar peninsula. Also proposed is a so-called "Mid-Bay" strategy which takes elements of the coastal spine and adds features to specifically protect areas inside Galveston Bay; this option has been designed by the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center, headed by Rice University. The efficacy of these options at protecting the region from storms have been demonstrated through simulations using the Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) modeling framework, coupled to a wave model such as the Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model, or other wave models. Lacking from these studies so far has been examination of the environmental impacts of such structures on the long-term circulation patterns, salinity and temperature distributions within Galveston Bay. In this talk, we describe recent and ongoing studies of 2D and 3D models of potential environmental impacts of these structures on Galveston Bay, and how the structures may be modified to lessen these impacts.