About

Rick Luettich is an Alumni Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in Coastal hazards and Coastal Physical Oceanography. He earned his Sc.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987. His research interests include coastal hazard prediction, compound flooding, coastal water level prediction, and climate impacts on coastal hazards. He is actively involved in the Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences department, contributing to research and education in these areas.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Environmental science
• Climatology
• Geography
• Geology
• Meteorology

Selected publications

• Implications from the comparisons between two- and three-dimensional model simulations of the Hurricane Ike storm surge: Hurricane IKE 2-D and 3-D Simulations

  UNC Libraries · 2021-10-30

  articleOpen access

  We apply the Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model to simulate the Hurricane Ike storm surge using two‐dimensional (2‐D) and three‐dimensional (3‐D) formulations. The high resolution, unstructured grid extends over the Gulf of Mexico with open boundaries in the Straits of Florida and the Yucatan Channel. With the same wind and pressure forcing, the bottom drag coefficients for the baseline 2‐D and 3‐D simulations are determined by spatially varying Manning coefficients and constant bottom roughness, respectively. The baseline 2‐D model simulates both the forerunner and the surge, whereas the baseline 3‐D model simulates the surge, but underestimates the forerunner. Increasing the minimum Manning coefficient reduces the 2‐D forerunner and the surge. Manning coefficient and bottom roughness parameterizations produce different bottom drag coefficients. Using the same bottom drag coefficient, the 2‐D simulation yields a smaller surge than in three dimensions. This is investigated for scenarios of either constant or variable bottom roughness where the bottom roughness is determined through Manning coefficient transformation. These sensitivity studies indicate that storm surges, simulated either in two dimensions or three dimensions, depend critically upon the parameterizations and the parameter values used for specifying bottom stress (and similar may be said of surface stress). Given suitable calibration, 2‐D and 3‐D models may adequately simulate storm surge. However, it is unclear that a calibration for a given storm and location may apply generally. Hence additional experimental guidance is required on the parameterizations and the parameter values used for both the surface and bottom stresses under severe wind conditions.

  PublisherDOI

• North Carolina State climate report

  2020

  • Computer Science
  • Climatology
  • Environmental science
  Publisher

• Developing a Coastal and Inland Hazard and Impact Prediction System for Extreme Weather Events in the Northeastern United States

  AGUFM · 2018-12-01

  articleSenior author
  Publisher

• Downscaling of Real-Time Coastal Flooding Predictions for Decision Support

  AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts · 2018-12-01

  articleSenior author
  Publisher

• Coastal Hazards Related to Storm Surge

  2018-03-13 · 1 citations

  bookOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Globally, the risk associated with living in the coastal zone is substantial and rising due to large and growing populations, commerce and infrastructure; relative sea level rise; and the impacts of a warming climate on storm characteristics. The principal coastal hazards in much of the world are storm surge, coastal flooding and surface waves caused by severe tropical or extra-tropical storms. This volume presents state of the art research that extends our understanding of, and our ability to predict coastal hazards that are associated with storm surge. Fourteen papers cover topics ranging from predicting coupled surge and wave dynamics at multiple scales; erosion and scour; statistical considerations for hazard delineation; joint effects of climate change and storm surge; storm surge mitigation strategies and human response to storm surge threats. This work presents important advancements in our ability to predict, mitigate and respond to the principal hazard threatening most of the world's coastal areas. Recognizing these advancements and translating them into policy and practice are essential if we are to effectively manage coastal risk and create more resilient coastal communities in which to live, work and recreate.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Representing Low Frequency, Spatially Varying Water Level Anomalies in Storm Surge Computations

  97th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting · 2017-01-24

  article1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

• Sensitivity of Storm Surge Predictions to Atmospheric Forcing during Hurricane Isaac

  Journal of Waterway Port Coastal and Ocean Engineering · 2017-10-12 · 65 citations

  articleSenior author

  Storm surge and overland flooding can be predicted with computational models at high levels of resolution. To improve efficiency in forecasting applications, surge models often use atmospheric forcing from parametric vortex models, which represent the surface pressures and wind fields with a few storm parameters. The future of storm surge prediction could involve real-time coupling of surge and full-physics atmospheric models; thus, their accuracies must be understood in a real hurricane scenario. The authors compare predictions from a parametric vortex model (using forecast tracks from the National Hurricane Center) and a full-physics coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model during Hurricane Isaac (2012). The predictions are then applied within a tightly coupled, wave and surge modeling system describing the northern Gulf of Mexico and the floodplains of southwest Louisiana. It is shown that, in a hindcast scenario, a parametric vortex model can outperform a data-assimilated wind product, and given reasonable forecast advisories, a parametric vortex model gives reasonable surge forecasts. However, forecasts using a full-physics coupled model outperformed the forecast advisories and improved surge forecasts. Both approaches are valuable for forecasting the coastal impacts associated with tropical cyclones.

  PublisherDOI

• Reducing Coastal Risk – Structural Protection around Greater New Orleans

  ODU Digital Commons (Old Dominion University) · 2015-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

• The Importance of Federal and Regional Partnerships in Coastal Observing

  Elsevier eBooks · 2015-01-01 · 2 citations

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Contributors

  Elsevier eBooks · 2015-01-01

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• CMG: Collaborative Research: Adaptive Numerical Methods for Shallow Water Circulation with Applications to Hurricane Storm Surge Modeling

  NSF · $167k · 2006–2010

Frequent coauthors

• Joannes J. Westerink

  University of Notre Dame

  32 shared

• Emily Anne Spargo

  NOAA National Geodetic Survey

  16 shared

• Dave Mark

  12 shared

• J. C. Dietrich

  North Carolina State University

  9 shared

• Robert H. Weisberg

  University of South Florida St. Petersburg

  9 shared

• Jeffrey L. Hanson

  8 shared

• Clint Dawson

  7 shared

• Jane McKee Smith

  7 shared

Labs

• Earth, Marine and Environmental SciencesPI