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Amplification of the storm surges in shallow waters of the Pertuis Charentais (Bay of Biscay, France)

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Abstract

The Pertuis Charentais are shallow coastal embayments formed by the islands of Oleron and Re in the north-eastern Bay of Biscay. The low-lying coasts of the Pertuis Charentais are susceptible to extensive flooding caused by the storm surges generated in the North Atlantic. Numerical modelling of the 24 October 1999 surge event is performed in the present study in order to elucidate the impact of the wind-wave-tide-surge interactions on the surge propagation in the Pertuis Charentais. A 2D numerical model is constructed to simulate the wave and tide-surge propagation on a high-resolution finite-element grid by using the TELEMAC and TOMAWAC software. The effect of the wave-induced enhancement on the sea surface drag and on the bottom friction is evaluated by using the models of Janssen (1991) and Christoffersen and Jonsson (1985), respectively. The radiation stress is estimated by employing the approach of Longuet-Higgins and Stewart (1964). It is demonstrated that the peak surge in the night on 23–24 October has been amplified inside the Pertuis Charentais by about 20 cm due to the wind-wave interactions with the tide-surge currents. These interactions are strongest at the entrance to the Pertuis Charentais where the sea surface drag coefficient is significantly increased by the wind-wave coupling. The effect of the wave-tide-surge interactions is large enough to be included in the flood forecasting systems of this region.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the anonymous reviewers for the helpful and constructive comments. M.K. thanks J. Wolf for insightful comments regarding results of this study. The authors thank L. Pineau-Guillou for supplying the observations at Chapus. This work was partially supported by Conseil General de Charente-Maritime (Ph.D. Fellowship to A.N.) and by the National Research Agency project ANR VASIREMI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IFREMER, DYNECO/PHYSED, Plouzané, France

    Amandine Nicolle

  2. LIENSs CNRS UMR 6250, Université de La Rochelle, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France

    Mikhail Karpytchev

  3. Saint-Venant Laboratory for Hydraulics, Université Paris Est (Joint Research Unit EDF R&D, CETMEF, Ecole des Ponts ParisTech), Chatou, France

    Michel Benoit

Authors
  1. Amandine Nicolle
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  2. Mikhail Karpytchev
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  3. Michel Benoit
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Correspondence to Mikhail Karpytchev.

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Nicolle, A., Karpytchev, M. & Benoit, M. Amplification of the storm surges in shallow waters of the Pertuis Charentais (Bay of Biscay, France). Ocean Dynamics 59, 921–935 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-009-0219-0

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