Advanced

Hazus is a nationally applicable standardized methodology developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). A downloadable software package called Hazus-MH (for Multi-Hazard) gives users access to FEMA's models for estimating potential losses from earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. The software package uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to estimate physical, economic, and social impacts of disasters.

As part of its civil works mission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of federally-authorized shore protection projects. To solve the complex problem of modeling and measuring the costs and benefits of protecting existing infrastructure against erosion, inundation, and wave attack damages, researchers at the USACE ERDC Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory and the Institute for Water Resources created Beach-fx.

The Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) simulates the dominant processes involved in wetland conversions and shoreline modifications during long-term sea level rise. Map distributions of wetlands are predicted under conditions of accelerated sea level rise, and results are summarized in tabular and graphical form. SLAMM has been used in several geographies and applications across the nation since its development in the mid-1980s.

VDatum converts elevation data between tidal, orthometric, and ellipsoidal vertical datums, allowing users to establish a common reference system for all elevation data sets. VDatum is unique since it is based on a hydrodynamic model to convert between tidal and orthometric datums.

Understanding the hydrodynamics of the coast, especially the waves associated with storms, is essential to managing the fragile coastal environment. The Wave Exposure Model (WEMo) is a free and easy-to-use tool that helps coastal managers, ecologists, and physical hydrologists alike by estimating wave energy and its effects on ecosystem functions, as well as on developed coastal and inland-water areas.

The Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) is computer software that computes rate-of-change statistics from multiple historic shoreline positions residing in a geographic information system. It is also useful for computing rates of change for just about any other boundary change problem that incorporates a clearly-identified feature position at discrete times.