Web Services for Interactive Exploration and Analysis of the NACCS Database
Working with the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) and representatives from states across New England, RPS developed a data management and distribution system (database, API, and web services) which allows public users to access a library of high-resolution model-based storm surge predictions for the Northeast US.
The system integrates modeling results from the recent USACE North Atlantic Comprehensive Coastal Study (NACCS) into existing websites and viewers managed by the NROC member states. It also provides ArcGIS users with access to model output via web services, and allows for bulk download of the NACCS database.
RPS received funding through NROC’s Resilient Shorelines Grant Program to develop a suite of web services designed to facilitate access and use of the NACCS data by NROC states.
Key details
Project name
Web Services for Interactive Exploration and Analysis of the NACCS Database
Client
Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC)
Sectors
- Residential
- Industrial
- Flooding and drainage
- Oil and gas
Location
- North Atlantic coastline, USA
Services provided
- Data collection
- Data management
- Outreach and communication
Challenge
The NACCS study included state of the art atmospheric, wave, and storm surge modelling for the North Atlantic region based on a large storm set (1050 synthetic tropical storms and 100 extratropical storms) strategically selected to characterize the regional storm hazard. Extremal analysis techniques were applied to develop return periods for waves and water levels periods at thousands of stations along the coast. This catalog of storm data offers opportunity to extend high fidelity modelling to studies at the regional and local level, however, use was limited as many potential users from the coastal management and engineering community found the information difficult to access and understand.
Solution
The database now consists of model input/output and summary statistics at each of the approximately 19,000 coastal stations, and includes:
- Peak storm surge and wind associated with each storm
- Peak wave height/period
- Storm tracks and associated parameters for 1050 synthetic tropical cyclones
- Annual recurrence interval statistics for storm surge and wave height
Web services were developed to connect the database to a range of web portals/viewers that are hosted by NROC states. In addition, RPS developed a suite of services that allow GIS users to access the NACCS data through an ArcGIS environment and to download a file geodatabase version of the entire dataset.