Unveiling the role of storm surges as a driver of flooding on the western Mediterranean: a case study of the Ebro Delta

Storm surges in the Western Mediterranean are generally low in magnitude, making their contribution to coastal fooding less signifcant compared to wave overtopping. Nonetheless, low-lying, sheltered coasts such as deltas and wetlands, which are frequent along the Mediterranean basin are particularly...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Romero Martín, Rut|||0000-0002-9257-3898, Sanuy Vázquez, Marc|||0000-0003-2711-5409, Jiménez Quintana, José Antonio|||0000-0003-0900-4684
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/421124
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/421124
https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11069-024-06984-5
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Storm surge
Coastal plain
Sheltered coasts
SLR
Inundation
Flood modelling
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Enginyeria hidràulica, marítima i sanitària::Ports i costes
Descripción
Sumario:Storm surges in the Western Mediterranean are generally low in magnitude, making their contribution to coastal fooding less signifcant compared to wave overtopping. Nonetheless, low-lying, sheltered coasts such as deltas and wetlands, which are frequent along the Mediterranean basin are particularly vulnerable to storm surges. This study, focusing on the Ebro Delta as representative of this type of coastal environment, investigates the fooding caused by storm surge alone and in conjunction with other non-wave related factors like astronomical tides and sea level rise (SLR), using the LISFLOOD-FP model. The fndings highlight the signifcant fooding potential of storm surges on passive, and unprotected coasts, while also indicate that astronomical tides have a minor efect on food extent under prevalent microtidal conditions. SLR greatly increases the impact of storm surges, amplifying temporary inundation in the short term and becoming the dominant factor over time. The study underscores the importance of accurately representing surge duration and small topographic features in food models to ensure robust coastal inundation assessments in low-lying areas.