Westerink Briefs Congressional Committee on Storm Surge
On
November 3, 2005, Joannes J. Westerink, associate professor
in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, participated
in an American Mathematical Society report to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee
on Science. He and Clint Dawson, professor of aerospace engineering and
engineering mechanics at the University of Texas, presented “From
Katrina Forward: How Mathematical Modeling Predicts Storm Surge.” The
presentation focused on mathematical modeling and computer simulation
as tools in forecasting storm surges due to hurricanes and tsunamis.
They described the research that has occurred over the last decade, which
has increased the accuracy of predictions regarding the extent and magnitude
of flooding as a storm makes landfall.
A faculty member
since 1990, Westerink is one of the developers of the Advanced Circulation
Model (ADCIRC), an authoritative computer model for storm surge prediction.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
and the state of Louisiana use the model to determine water levels due
to hurricane surge as well as to design appropriate levee heights and alignments.
For more information on Notre Dame’s research in environmental
hydraulics, visit http://www.nd.edu/~coast.
For details on the ADCIRC model, visit www.nd.edu/~adcirc
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