INFLUENCE OF FLORIDA BATHYMETRY ON WIND STRESS COMPONENT OF STORM SURGE

Open coast storm surge water levels consist of a wind shear forcing component generally referred to as a wind setup; a wave setup component caused by wind induced waves transferring momentum to the water column; an atmospheric pressure head component due to the atmospheric pressure deficit over the spatial extent of the storm system; a Coriolis forced component due to the effects of the rotation of the earth acting on the wind driven alongshore current at the coast; and, if astronomical tides are present, an astronomical tide component (although the tide is not really a direct part of the meteorological driven component of storm surge). Typically, the most important component of a storm surge is the wind setup component, especially on the East Coast of the US and in the Gulf of Mexico. The importance of bathymetry to this wind setup storm surge component is considered herein with special reference to the coastline of Florida where eight Florida transects consisting of a cross-section of bathymetric data perpendicular to the shoreline were investigated. Effects of Coriolis, wave setup, atmospheric pressure head, and astronomical tide are not considered herein but will be addressed in future papers. The present study findings show that the wind setup component can vary over an order of magnitude for the same wind speed depending on the bathymetry leading up to the coast.