SENSING

STORM SURGE

GET IN TOUCH 

sensingsurge@gmail.com http://sensingstormsurge.acg.maine.edu

WHAT'S STORM SURGE? 

A storm surge is an abnormal rise in waterlevel that accompanies an intense storm.When combined with the tide, these waterlevels can present a flooding risk to localcommunities. Understanding storm surgeimpacts is a current priority for manycommunities in coastal Maine, as well asfor local, state and federal agencies withlocal interests.

WHY STUDY STORM SURGE?

Image credit: NOAA

This research aims to empower citizens tobecome and remain integral in thediscussion of environmental changeadaptation in their communities. Citizenscientists involved in the project observeand document storm surge events in threeMaine estuaries (Penobscot River,Bagaduce River and Bass Harbor andSouthwest Harbor) by maintaining waterlevel loggers at waterfront fieldsites.Citizen scientists visit the sites monthly todownload the data and upload to theproject website. Data is then processed byUniversity of Maine researchers and sharedwith community members andorganizations in each estuary  

WHAT WE DO

A Community-Based CitizenScientist Effort in Maine

PARTICIPATION INQUIRIES,

DATA UPDATES,

GENERAL INFORMATION.

"BOMB CYCLONE" 

On October 30th, 2017, atmospheric pressuredropped relatively quickly throughout NewEngland, creating a meteorological eventsometimes referred to as a “bomb cyclone".The data below, collected in part by areacitizen scientists, is from the October 2017"bomb cyclone" weather event. 

Figure 1. October 30th,2017 storm surge mapfor the Penobscot River.Site locations are inRockport and Bangor.Blue text values arepeak storm tide (tides +storm surge), red textvalues are peak stormsurge, grey valuesdenote time for surgeto travel from Rockportto Bangor. 

The October 30th "bomb cyclone" producedexternally generated (wind-driven) surge thatpropagated into Penobscot Bay and River. Thestorm hit during the flood phase (water cominginto the estuary). The storm surge levelsdoubled from Rockport to Bangor due to thenarrowness of the river near Bangor. It tookover two hours for the peak storm surge levelsto travel from Rockport to Bangor, indicatingthat the surge traveled toward Bangor at anaverage speed of 9.8 m/s (approximately 22miles per hour).

PENOBSCOT RIVER 

BAGADUCE RIVER

During the October 30th storm event theBagaduce River surge values increased fromB1 to B2 (see Figure 2) due to the narrowchannel between Castine and Penobscot.Surge values then decrease from B2 to B3due to the shallowness of the system.  Stormsurge values are reduced by over half fromB3 to B4 and B5 due to the existence of the175 bridge, which acts as a constriction andrestricts storm surge from propagatingupstream.

Figure 2. October 30th, 2017 storm surge map for theBagaduce River. Site locations are denoted by B1-B5labels. The contours denotes storm surge levels,warmer hues indicate larger values and blonder huesindicate smaller values. Blue text values are peakstorm tide (tides + storm surge), red text values arepeak storm surge, grey values denote time for surgeto travel from B1 to each location. 

BASS HARBOR & SOUTHWEST

HARBOR

Within Bass Harbor, storm surge levels arerelatively analogous due to the smaller size ofthe system (see Figure 3). However, slightlylarger values are observed at Thurston’sLobster Pound, which is likely due to itslocation north of a small headland that causeslocal amplification. Storm surge levels aredecreased by 8% north of the 102 Bridge.Comparatively, surge values are larger inSouthwest Harbor compared to Bass Harbor,likely due to the narrowness of the WesternWay channel between Great Cranberry Islandand Manset.

Figure 3. October 30th, 2017 storm surge map forBass Harbor and Southwest Harbor. The contoursdenotes storm surge levels, warmer hues are largerand blonder hues are smaller. Blue text values arepeak storm tide (tides + storm surge), red text valuesare peak storm surge.