Numerical study of the sensitivity of mangroves in reducing storm surge and flooding to hurricane characteristics in southern Florida

• We incorporate land cover data into the storm surge and flooding model.
• We investigate the sensitivity of mangrove effects in reducing storm surge and flooding to sets of synthetic hurricanes.
• Storm surge magnitudes and flooding areas are reduced by the mangrove zone more for fast moving hurricanes than slow moving hurricanes.
• Increasing hurricane intensity and hurricane size lower the effect of mangrove on attenuating storm surge and reducing the flooding area.
• The role of mangrove zone in reducing flooding areas also depends on hurricane moving direction.

The sensitivity of the mangrove effect on reducing storm surge flooding to hurricane characteristics is investigated by using the numerical model Coastal and Estuarine Storm Tide (CEST). First, the attenuation of storm surge by mangroves is incorporated into the model by updating Manning’s coefficient based on the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) 2001. Then CEST is verified by comparing the model results with field observations in South Florida for Hurricane Wilma. Secondly, a set of numerical experiments using synthetic hurricanes with different intensity, forward speed, radius of maximum wind speed and travel direction are conducted for the sensitivity study. Results indicate that storm surge magnitudes and flooding areas are reduced by the mangrove zone more for fast moving hurricanes than slow moving hurricanes in the west coast of South Florida. In addition, increasing hurricane intensity and hurricane size lower the effect of mangroves on attenuating storm surge and reducing the flooding area. The mangrove zone plays a more effective role in reducing flooding areas from hurricanes that travel from east to west than from hurricanes that travel from west to east. The mangrove reduction effect is most sensitive to changes in hurricane forward speed. A 6.7 m/s to 2.2 m/s decrease in forward speed can result in a decrease in flood area reduction by mangroves that is equivalent to the decrease in flood area reduction by mangroves from Category 3 to 5 hurricanes.