FTLOADDS (combined SWIFT2D surface-water model and SEAWAT groundwater model) simulator used to Repurpose a Hindcast Simulation of the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane using the South Florida Peninsula for the Biscayne and Southern Everglades Coastal Transport (BISECT) Model

The previously developed Biscayne and Southern Everglades Coastal Transport (BISECT) model, which combines a three-dimensional groundwater model with a two-dimensional hydrodynamic surface-water model with variable-density solute-transport (https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195045), was used to evaluate the hydrologic response to historical and hypothesized modern hurricane strikes. Simulations were implemented using FTLOADDS (Flow and Transport in a Linked Overland/Aquifer Density-Dependent System) which is a coupled hydrodynamic surface-water and groundwater simulator that was developed by the U. S. Geological Survey to improve understanding of the complex and interconnected hydrology in South Florida. A simulation of the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane (GMH) strike had been previously developed with a hindcast representation in BISECT, developed to represent sea level and water management for the period of 1926 to 1932 but constrained by the limited hydrology and meteorology data available from the historic past. This simulation was presented in an article in the journal Ecological Processes (https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-014-0028-3).
For this study realistic hurricane wind and storm surge representations based on information synthesized from modern storm data are used to modify the previously published simulation. Modifications represent the GMH striking in 3 scenarios 1) In its real-life setting on September 18, 1926, 2) In a recent setting on September 18, 1996, and 3) with 1926 inland condition and 1996 sea level. These 3 scenarios help define the factors that affect how historical changes in climate, sea level, coastal topography, and the manmade canal system affect the severity of inundation and salinity intrusion from a major storm. An assessment of those effects can determine which historical changes affect the hydrologic response to a particular storm. Comparing the same storm strike at different historical times can improve understanding of how changes in the system can affect the severity of storm damage. This USGS data release contains the input and output files for the simulations described in the associated model documentation report (https://doi.org/10.3133/OFR20201010).