Description: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of water-level sensors at 212 locations along the Gulf of Mexico coast from Louisiana to Alabama during Ocotober 2012 to record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of inland hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Sandy. Water-level sensor locations were selected to augment existing tide-gage networks to ensure adequate monitoring in areas forecasted to have substantial storm tide. Storm tide, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA; November 2011a,b ), is the water level rise generated by a coastal storm as a result of the combination of storm surge and astronomical tide. Hurricane Isaac initially made landfall on the coast of New Jersey on October29, 2012, as a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale (National Hurricane Center, 2010) The data from the Hurricane Isaac storm-tide network constitute an extensive collection of continuous water-level records that document a single land-falling hurricane. The data can be used to evaluate the performance of storm-tide models for: (1) maximum and incremental water level, (2) flood extent, and (3) site-specific effects of storm tide on natural and anthropogenic elements of the environment. The data from the temporarily deployed sensors are considered approved, while the streamgage or tidal gage data are being made available on a provisional basis since they are subject to the USGS annual data report approval process. Data were collected and processed following protocols established by McGee and others (2005), which includes correcting water pressure for changes in barometric pressure and salinity. Quality-control checks were made by: (1) co-locating water-level sensors at a subset of sites and comparing data from those sensors to water levels computed from recorded pressure data at the sites, and (2) comparing water levels computed from recorded pressure data to water levels recorded at nearby USGS streamgages in addition to nearby high-water marks, to the extent possible. In the aftermath of the storm, an additional independent high-water mark locations were surveyed in relation to NAVD88; # locations in Louisian, # locations in Mississippi and # locations in Alabama. Elevation surveys using survey-grade global positioning systems and differential levels were conducted to relate all water-level data, HWM data, reference marks, new benchmarks, and sensor measuring points to NAVD 88.
Description: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of water-level sensors at 212 locations along the Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Maine during October 2012 record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of inland hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Sandy. Water-level sensor locations were selected to augment existing tide-gage networks to ensure adequate monitoring in areas forecasted to have substantial storm tide. Storm tide, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA; November 2011a,b ), is the water level rise generated by a coastal storm as a result of the combination of storm surge and astronomical tide.
Description: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of water-level sensors at 212 locations along the Atlantic coast from Maryland to Maine during October 2012 to record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of inland hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Sandy. Water-level sensor locations were selected to augment existing tide-gage networks to ensure adequate monitoring in areas forecasted to have substantial storm tide. Storm tide, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA; November 2011a,b ), is the water level rise generated by a coastal storm as a result of the combination of storm surge and astronomical tide. Hurricane Sandy initially made landfall just south of Atlantic City, NJ around 7pm EDT on October,29 2011, as a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale (National Hurricane Center, 2010).