ArcWaT: a model-based cell-by-cell GIS toolbox for estimating wave transformation during storm surge events

Quantifying the spatially varying nearshore wave characteristics and energy dissipation mechanisms is of utmost importance for several coastal management and engineering applications as well as for flood hazard assessment. This study presents the ArcGIS Wave Transformation toolbox (ArcWaT), a model-based GIS toolbox for estimating wave transformation from wave magnitude and direction model outputs. In order to assess the ArcWaT capabilities, a case study was developed using ADCIRC + SWAN model outputs from a highly-resolved numerical mesh developed for the nearshore areas of the state of Maryland and forced with wind and pressure fields from Hurricane Irene. Results show that several wave transformation processes, i.e., wave generation, shoaling, refraction, wave breaking, diffraction, and wave attenuation due to bottom friction, are more easily identified when using ArcWaT if compared to the non-processed wave magnitude and direction model outputs. Among these processes wave attenuation due to bottom friction is found to be the most significant.