Planning for the Change: Mapping Sea Level Rise and Storm Inundation in Sherman Island Using 3Di Hydrodynamic Model and LiDAR

In California, one of the greatest concerns of global climate change is sea level rise (SLR) associated with extreme storm events. Several studies were conducted to statically map SLR and storm inundation, while its dynamic was less studied. This study argues it is important to conduct dynamic simulation with high resolution data, and employs a 3Di hydrodynamic model to simulate the inundation of Sherman Island, California. The big data, high resolution digital surface model (DSM) from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), was used to model the ground surface. The results include a series of simulated inundation, which show that when the sea level rises more than 1 m, there are major impacts on Sherman Island. In all, this study serves as a fine database for better planning, management, and governance to understand future scenarios.