Simulation of High Water Levels in Waters off the Mackenzie Delta during an Arctic Storm

Abstract

Xu, F.; Li, C., and Perrie, W., 2020. Simulation of high water levels in waters off the Mackenzie Delta during an Arctic storm. In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 1361–1365. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Arctic storms are among the most frequent and devastating phenomena that occur in waters off the Mackenzie Delta and Southern Beaufort Sea, and changes in water level are a serious concern in the open water summer season. This study focuses on finding a reasonable method to simulate the storm surge induced by an Arctic storm, in waters off the Mackenzie Delta, by applying an unstructured grid model, FVCOM, and by developing an evaluation method to resolve the complex multiple channels and the associated water discharge distributions. This study shows that wind-induced storm surge is a dominant factor among the factors affecting increases in total water level. During the storm, water levels rises and surface current activity intensify in shallow coastal areas.