A Comparison of 2d Storm-surge Models Applied To 3 Shallow European Seas

Five different two-dimensional storm surge models have been applied to the North Sea, the Aegean and the Adriatic, using common bathymetry, boundary conditions and meteorological forcing. In the North Sea, differences between models are less than 10 cm. Storm surges, however, are underestimated by up to 50 cm. This indicates that improvement has to be found in the common features, e.g. the surface drag relation, rather than in the differences between the models. In the Mediterranean storm surges contribute no more than 35 cm to the total sea level. Seiche oscillations have a very long lifetime in these relatively deep basins. If the models are used according to a well-defined procedure (in particular using an inverted barometer initialisation of the surface elevation), the results are similar within 3 cm. Differences with observations are, however, up to 15 cm, which is most likely the result of poor meteorological input