Date of Defense
30-10-2025 2:00 PM
Location
H1 - 2124
Document Type
Dissertation Defense
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Geosciences
College
CHSS
Department
Geography and Urban Sustainability
First Advisor
Prof. Khaula Alkaabi
Keywords
Abu Dhabi, game engine, GIS, sea level rise, scenarios, simulation.
Abstract
This dissertation is concerned with the potential impact of future sea level rise scenarios on the city of Abu Dhabi. With climate change, many coastal towns are at risk of experiencing this type of natural hazard. Currently, no precise scenario simulations have been developed, mainly related to the use of low spatial resolution elevation data. Additionally, the difficulty in understanding the real impacts persists when relying solely on traditional cartography and GIS methods. This dissertation mainly aims to take a further step by offering a new approach, which involves creating a real-time 3D simulation and dynamic flowing water. This is defined as a “digital twin” and will be applied to specific city areas to extract statistics related to four custom scenarios: 1 m, 2 m, 3 m, and 4 m. These statistics will focus on three aspects commonly analyzed separately: buildings, road network, and vegetation. Unity game engine, a software initially used for video game creation, is merged with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to create a virtual replica of the city and perform simulations. The main results reveal a general moderate sea level rise on the shoreline by 1 m. Significant initial water intrusions are exhibited from 2 m in the eastern part of the Corniche area. The 3 m rise depicts a significant global flood with some regions still accessible. However, the last scenario exposes nearly entirely flooded areas except for a few upper-elevation zones. Conclusions highlight the high vulnerability of the vast majority of the regions, especially from 3 m, and offer a comprehensive explanation of the sea level rise impact on each aspect studied. This simulation automatically measures, in real-time, the effect of each scenario on the number of buildings, road distance, and tree species. The sea level is dynamically updated in the interface, and a compass facilitates the orientation. This allows the player to move freely in the zone by walking or flying. This novel and innovative 3D simulation probably provides one the most recent comprehensive understanding of Abu Dhabi’s vulnerability to these predictions. It gives detailed, real-time statistics, a 3D virtual city environment, and in-game total freedom of movement, with both first-person and third-person view modes implemented.
ANALYZING SEA LEVEL RISE SCENARIOS IMPACT ON THE MOBILITY, INFRASTRUCTURES, ENVIRONMENT OF ABU DHABI AND DEFINING SOLUTIONS BY CREATING A DIGITAL TWIN USING GIS AND GAME ENGINE
H1 - 2124
This dissertation is concerned with the potential impact of future sea level rise scenarios on the city of Abu Dhabi. With climate change, many coastal towns are at risk of experiencing this type of natural hazard. Currently, no precise scenario simulations have been developed, mainly related to the use of low spatial resolution elevation data. Additionally, the difficulty in understanding the real impacts persists when relying solely on traditional cartography and GIS methods. This dissertation mainly aims to take a further step by offering a new approach, which involves creating a real-time 3D simulation and dynamic flowing water. This is defined as a “digital twin” and will be applied to specific city areas to extract statistics related to four custom scenarios: 1 m, 2 m, 3 m, and 4 m. These statistics will focus on three aspects commonly analyzed separately: buildings, road network, and vegetation. Unity game engine, a software initially used for video game creation, is merged with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to create a virtual replica of the city and perform simulations. The main results reveal a general moderate sea level rise on the shoreline by 1 m. Significant initial water intrusions are exhibited from 2 m in the eastern part of the Corniche area. The 3 m rise depicts a significant global flood with some regions still accessible. However, the last scenario exposes nearly entirely flooded areas except for a few upper-elevation zones. Conclusions highlight the high vulnerability of the vast majority of the regions, especially from 3 m, and offer a comprehensive explanation of the sea level rise impact on each aspect studied. This simulation automatically measures, in real-time, the effect of each scenario on the number of buildings, road distance, and tree species. The sea level is dynamically updated in the interface, and a compass facilitates the orientation. This allows the player to move freely in the zone by walking or flying. This novel and innovative 3D simulation probably provides one the most recent comprehensive understanding of Abu Dhabi’s vulnerability to these predictions. It gives detailed, real-time statistics, a 3D virtual city environment, and in-game total freedom of movement, with both first-person and third-person view modes implemented.