scholarly journals MODIFICATION OF WAVE SPECTRA ON THE CONTINENTAL SHELF AND IN THE SURF ZONE

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (8) ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles L. Bretschneider

This paper discusses the problem pertaining to the modification of the wave spectrum over the continental shelf. Modification factors include bottom friction, percolation, refraction, breaking waves, ocean currents, and regeneration of wind waves in shallow water, among other factors. A formulation of the problem is presented but no general solution is made, primarily because of lack of basic data. Several special solutions are presented based on reasonable assumptions. The case for a steep continental shelf with parallel bottom contours and wave crests parallel to the coast and for which bottom friction is neglected has been investigated. For this case it is found that the predominant period shifts toward longer periods. The implication is, for example, that the significant periods observed along the U. S. Pacific coast are longer than those which would be observed several miles westward over deep water. The case for a gentle continental shelf with parallel bottom contour and wave crests parallel to the coast and for which bottom friction is important has also been investigated. For this case it is found that the predominant period shifts toward shorter periods as the water depth decreases. The implication is, for example, that the significant periods observed in the shallow water over the continental shelf are shorter than those which would be observed beyond the continental slope. In very shallow water, because shoaling becomes important, a secondary peak appears at higher periods. The joint distribution of wave heights and wave periods is required in order to determine the most probable maximum breaking wave, which can be of lesser height than the most probable maximum non-breaking wave. In very shallow water the most probable maximum breaking wave which first occurs would be governed by the breaking depth criteria, whereas in deepwater wave steepness can also be a governing factor. It can be expected that in very shallow water the period of the most probable maximum breaking wave should be longer than the significant period; and for deeper water the period of the most probable maximum breaking wave can be less than the significant period.

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ian Collins

Utilizing the hydrodynamic relationships for shoaling and refraction of waves approaching a shoreline over parallel bottom contours a procedure is developed to transform an arbitrary probability density of wave characteristics in deep water into the corresponding breaking characteristics in shallow Water A number of probability distributions for breaking wave characteristics are derived m terms of assumed deep water probability densities of wave heights wave lengths and angles of approach Some probability densities for wave heights at specific locations in the surf zone are computed for a Rayleigh distribution in deep water The probability computations are used to derive the expectation of energy flux and its distribution.


Author(s):  
Dag Myrhaug

This article provides a simple analytical method for giving estimates of random wave-driven drag forces on near-bed vegetation in shallow water from deepwater wind conditions. Results are exemplified using a Pierson–Moskowitz model wave spectrum for wind waves with the mean wind speed at the 10 m elevation above the sea surface as the parameter. The significant value of the drag force within a sea state of random waves is given, and an example typical for field conditions is presented. This method should serve as a useful tool for assessing random wave-induced drag force on vegetation in coastal zones and estuaries based on input from deepwater wind conditions.


1974 ◽  
Vol 1 (14) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole Secher Madsen

The possible effect on the stability of a porous sand bed of the flow induced within the bed during the passage of near-breaking or breaking waves is considered. It is found that the horizontal flow rather than the vertical flow within the bed may affect its stability. An approximate analysis, used in geotechnical computations of slope stability, indicates that a momentary bed failure is likely to occur during the passage of the steep front slope of a near-breaking wave. Experimental results for the pressure gradient along the bottom under near-breaking waves are presented. These results indicate that the pressure gradient is indeed of sufficient magnitude to cause the momentary failure suggested by the theoretical analysis. The loss of stability of the bed material due to the flow induced within the bed itself may affect the amount of material set in motion during the passage of a near-breaking or breaking wave, in particular, in model tests employing light weight bed material. The failure mechanism considered here is also used as the basis for a hypothesis for the depth of disturbance of the bed in the surf zone. The flow induced in a porous bed is concluded to be an important mechanism which should be considered when dealing with the wave-sediment interaction in the surf zone.


1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (20) ◽  
pp. 72 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Basco ◽  
Takao Yamashita

Breaking waves undergo a transition from oscillatory, irrotational motion, to highly rotational (turbulent) motion with some particle translation. On plane or monotonically decreasing beach profiles, this physically takes place in such a way that the mean water level remains essentially constant within the transition region. Further shoreward a rapid set-up takes place within the inner, bore-like region. The new surf zone model of Svendsen (1984) begins at this transition point and the new wave there contains a trapped volume of water within the surface roller moving with the wave speed. This paper describes a simple model over the transition zone designed to match the Svendsen (1984) model at the end of the transition region. It uses a simple, linear growth model for the surface roller area development and semi-empirical model for the variation of the wave shape factor. Breaking wave type can vary from spilling through plunging as given by a surf similarity parameter. The model calculates the wave height decrease and width of the transition region for all breaker types on plane or monotonically depth decreasing beaches.


2016 ◽  
Vol 858 ◽  
pp. 354-358
Author(s):  
Tao You ◽  
Li Ping Zhao ◽  
Zheng Xiao ◽  
Lun Chao Huang ◽  
Xiao Rui Han

Within the surf zone which is the region extending from the seaward boundary of wave breaking to the limit of wave uprush, breaking waves are the dominant hydrodynamics acting as the key role for sediment transport and beach profile change. Breaking waves exhibit various patterns, principally depending on the incident wave steepness and the beach slope. Based on the equations of conservation of mass, momentum and energy, a theoretical model for wave transformation in and outside the surf zone was obtained, which is used to calculate the wave shoaling, wave set-up and set down and wave height distributions in and outside the surf zone. The analysis and comparison were made about the breaking point location and the wave height variation caused by the wave breaking and the bottom friction, and about the wave breaking criterion under regular and irregular breaking waves. Flume experiments relating to the regular and irregular breaking wave height distribution across the surf zone were conducted to verify the theoretical model. The agreement is good between the theoretical and experimental results.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1929
Author(s):  
Yury Yu. Yurovsky ◽  
Vladimir N. Kudryavtsev ◽  
Semyon A. Grodsky ◽  
Bertrand Chapron

The effective normalized radar cross section (NRCS) of breaking waves, σwb, is empirically derived based on joint synchronized Ka-band radar and video records of the sea surface from a research tower. The σwb is a key parameter that, along with the breaker footprint fraction, Q, defines the contribution of non-polarized backscattering, NP =σwbQ, to the total sea surface NRCS. Combined with the right representation of the regular Bragg and specular backscattering components, the NP component is fundamental to model and interpret sea surface radar measurements. As the first step, the difference between NRCS values for breaking and non-breaking conditions is scaled with the optically-observed Q and compared with the geometric optics model of breaker backscattering. Optically-derived Q might not be optimal to represent the effect of breaking waves on the radar measurements. Alternatively, we rely on the breaking crest length that is firmly detected by the video technique and the empirically estimated breaker decay (inverse wavelength) scale in the direction of breaking wave propagation. A simplified model of breaker NRCS is then proposed using the geometric optics approach. This semi-analytical model parameterizes the along-wave breaker decay from reported breaker roughness spectra, obtained in laboratory experiments with mechanically-generated breakers. These proposed empirical breaker NRCS estimates agree satisfactorily with observations.


Author(s):  
A. A. Rodin ◽  
N. A. Rodina ◽  
A. A. Kurkin ◽  
E. N. Pelinovsky

The influence of counter interaction of nonlinear wave in the shallow water has been studied. It is shown that such an interaction leads to a change in the phase of propagation of the main wave, which is forced to propagate along the flow induced by the counter-propagating wave. Estimates of the height of the non-breaking wave at the moment of interaction are in agreement with theoretical predictions. The phase shift in the interaction of non-breaking waves is small enough, but becomes noticeable in the case of the breaking waves motion.


1974 ◽  
Vol 1 (14) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivar G. Jonsson ◽  
Ove Skovgaard ◽  
Torben S. Jacobsen

The steady state profile of the longshore current induced by regular, obliquely incident, breaking waves, over a bottom with arbitrary parallel bottom contours, is predicted. A momentum approach is adopted. The wave parameters must be given at a depth outside the surf zone, where the current velocity is very small. The variation of the bottom roughness along the given bottom profile must be prescribed in advance. Depth refraction is included also in the calculation of wave set-down and set-up. Current refraction and rip-currents are excluded. The model includes two new expressions, one for the calculation of the turbulent lateral mixing, and one for the turbulent bottom friction. The term for the bottom friction is non-linear. Rapid convergent numerical algorithms are described for the solution of the governing equations. The predicted current profiles are compared with laboratory experiments and field measurements. For a plane sloping bottom, the influence of different eddy viscosities and constant values of bottom roughness is examined.


Author(s):  
Dominic Van der A ◽  
Joep Van der Zanden ◽  
Ming Li ◽  
James Cooper ◽  
Simon Clark ◽  
...  

Multiphase CFD models recently have proved promising in modelling cross‐shore sediment transport and morphodynamics (Jacobsen et al 2014). However, modelling breaking wave turbulence remains a major challenge for these models, because it occurs at very different spatial and temporal length scales and involves the interaction between surface generated turbulence and turbulence generated in the bottom boundary layer. To an extent these challenges arise from a lack of appropriate experimental data, since most previous experimental studies involved breaking waves at small-scale, and have not permitted investigation of the turbulent boundary layer processes. Moreover, most existing studies have concentrated on regular waves, thereby excluding the flow and turbulence dynamics occurring at wave group time-scales under irregular waves within the surf zone. These limitations motivated a new experiment in the large-scale CIEM wave flume in Barcelona involving regular and irregular waves. The experiment was conducted in May-July 2017 within the HYDRALAB+ Transnational Access project HYBRID.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 4159
Author(s):  
Irina A. Sergievskaya ◽  
Stanislav A. Ermakov ◽  
Aleksey V. Ermoshkin ◽  
Ivan A. Kapustin ◽  
Olga V. Shomina ◽  
...  

The study of the microwave scattering mechanisms of the sea surface is extremely important for the development of radar sensing methods. Some time ago, Bragg (resonance) scattering of electromagnetic waves from the sea surface was proposed as the main mechanism of radar backscattering at moderate incidence angles of microwaves. However, it has been recently confirmed that Bragg scattering is often unable to correctly explain observational data and that some other physical mechanisms should be taken into consideration. The newly introduced additional scattering mechanism was characterized as non-polarized, or non-Bragg scattering, from quasi-specular facets appearing due to breaking wave crests, the latter usually occurring in moderate and strong winds. In this paper, it was determined experimentally that such non-polarized radar backscattering appeared not only for rough sea conditions in which wave crests strongly break and “white caps” occur, but also at very low wind velocities close to their threshold values for the wave generation process. The experiments were performed using two polarized Doppler radars. The experiments demonstrated that a polarization ratio, which characterizes relative contributions of non-polarized and Bragg components to the total backscatter, changed slightly with wind velocity and wind direction. Detailed analysis of radar Doppler shifts revealed two types of scatterers responsible for the non-polarized component. One type of scatterer, moving with the velocities of decimeter-scale wind waves, determined radar backscattering at low winds. We identified these scatterers as “microbreakers” and related them to nonlinear features in the profile of decimeter-scale waves, like bulges, toes and parasitic capillary ripples. The scatterers of the second type were associated with strong breaking, moved with the phase velocities of meter-scale breaking waves and appeared at moderate winds additionally to the “microbreakers”. Along with strong breakers, the impact of microbreaking in non-polarized backscattering at moderate winds remained significant; specifically the microbreakers were found to be responsible for about half of the non-polarized component of the radar return. The presence of surfactant films on the sea surface led to a significant suppression of the small-scale non-Bragg scattering and practically did not change the non-Bragg scatterer speed. This effect was explained by the fact that the nonlinear structures associated with dm-scale waves were strongly reduced in the presence of a film due to the cascade mechanism, even if the reduction of the amplitude of dm waves was weak. At the same time, the velocities of non-Bragg scatterers remained practically the same as in non-slick areas since the phase velocity of dm waves was not affected by the film.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document