Coupling of a one-dimensional river routing model and a three-dimensional ocean model to predict overbank flows in a complex river-ocean system

River-ocean coupled models were developed to calculate overbank flows in a complex river-coastal ocean system comprising the Wu River and the adjacent coastal ocean of central Taiwan. The hydrodynamic quantities were exchanged between one-dimensional and three-dimensional domains during runtime to resolve the real-time exchange and interaction between the coastal waters and the river system. The coupled model was calibrated and verified with the observed water levels using data from three typhoon events. The results indicate a reasonable agreement between the model simulations and the observed data. The model was then used to calculate hydrographs of the overbank flow caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which occurred in 2008. The simulated overbank flows quantitatively agreed with the reported information. We also demonstrated that most of the overbank flows occurred at the upper reaches of the tributaries of the Wu River system, except for the tributary in the Fazi River.