Tidal Datums, Tidal Range, and Nuisance Flooding Levels for Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay

Dates

Publication Date: 2021-11-15

Citation

Aretxabaleta, A.L., Defne, Z., Kalra, T.S., Blanton, B.O., and Ganju, N.K., 2021, Tidal datums, tidal range, and nuisance flooding levels for Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9G7KGBF.

Summary

This U.S. Geological Survey data release provides data on spatial variations in tidal datums, tidal range, and nuisance flooding in Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. Tidal datums are standard elevations that are defined based on average tidal water levels. Datums are used as references to measure local water levels and to delineate regions in coastal environments. Nuisance flooding refers to the sporadic inundation of low-lying coastal areas by the maximum tidal water levels during spring tides, especially perigean spring tides (also known as king tides). Nuisance flooding is independent of storm event flooding, and it represents a cumulative or chronic hazard. The data were obtained by following a consistent methodology and at sufficient [...]

Summary

This U.S. Geological Survey data release provides data on spatial variations in tidal datums, tidal range, and nuisance flooding in Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. Tidal datums are standard elevations that are defined based on average tidal water levels. Datums are used as references to measure local water levels and to delineate regions in coastal environments. Nuisance flooding refers to the sporadic inundation of low-lying coastal areas by the maximum tidal water levels during spring tides, especially perigean spring tides (also known as king tides). Nuisance flooding is independent of storm event flooding, and it represents a cumulative or chronic hazard. The data were obtained by following a consistent methodology and at sufficient spatial resolution to resolve the distinct and complex features of each bay system. Tidal water levels were simulated by using the ADCIRC model system for the entire 2016 year. The year 2016 was chosen because it corresponded with the maximum magnitude of the combined 18.6-year and 4.4-year tidal modulations. The estuarine and bay areas were resolved with horizontal resolutions on the order of tens to hundreds of meters. The ADCIRC simulations provide time series of water levels at each computational point of an unstructured grid that covers the entire area of interest—from the open ocean to overland areas up to approximately 15 meters above the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. The water-level time series were analyzed to provide estimates of tidal range (great diurnal range and mean range of tide), tidal datums (mean high water, mean higher high water, mean low water, and mean lower low water), and nuisance flooding (highest astronomical tide and monthly mean high water). The resulting data are provided at all points of the computational grid for Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and the surrounding coastal area.

Contacts

Point of Contact :: Alfredo Aretxabaleta
Originator :: Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Zafer Defne, Tarandeep S Kalra, Brian O Blanton, Neil Kamal Ganju
Publisher :: U.S. Geological Survey
Data Owner :: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Distributor :: U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
SDC Data Owner :: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
USGS Mission Area :: Natural Hazards

Attached Files

sorting

Metadata First

Recent First

Alphabetical

Click on title to download individual files attached to this item.

Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.xml Original FGDC Metadata	View	26.64 KB	application/fgdc+xml
Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.csv “CSV file containing tidal fields”		153.11 MB	text/csv
Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.png “Graphic showing maximum inundation by the tide in Delaware Bay”		6.99 MB	image/png
Tidal_Datum_Inundation_Browse_AltText.docx “Word document describing alternative text for graphic”		2.81 MB	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
“Model output file stored in the cloud”		44.32 GB	application/zip

Shapefile: Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.zip
Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.dbf		309.93 MB
Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.sbn		13.67 MB
Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.sbx		217.01 KB
Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.cpg		5 Bytes
Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.shp		45.43 MB
Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.shx		12.98 MB
Tidal_Datum_Inundation_FEMA_R3.prj		145 Bytes

Purpose

The tidal datum, tidal range, and nuisance flooding data were created to be used in evaluating the spatial variation of the response and resiliency of coastal environments to tidal flooding.

Tidal Datums, Tidal Range, and Nuisance Flooding Levels for Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay

Dates

Citation

Summary

Summary

Contacts

Attached Files

sorting

Metadata First

Recent First

Alphabetical

Purpose

Preview Image

Map

Spatial Services

Communities

Tags

Provenance

Additional Information

Identifiers

Shapefile Extension

Item Actions

Use Item

View Item as ...

Save Item as ...

View Item...

Dates

Citation

Summary

Summary

Contacts

Attached Files sorting Metadata First Recent First Alphabetical

Purpose

Preview Image

Map

Spatial Services

Communities

Tags

Provenance

Additional Information

Identifiers

Shapefile Extension

Item Actions

Use Item

View Item as ...

Save Item as ...

View Item...

Attached Files

sorting

Metadata First

Recent First

Alphabetical