Altimetric observation of wave attenuation through the Antarctic marginal ice zone using ICESat-2

The Antarctic marginal ice zone (MIZ) is a highly dynamic region where sea ice interacts with ocean surface waves generated in ice-free areas of the Southern Ocean. Improved large-scale (satellite-based) estimates of MIZ width and variability are crucial for understanding atmosphere-ice-ocean interactions and biological processes, and detection of change therein. Legacy methods for defining the MIZ width are typically based on sea ice concentration thresholds, and do not directly relate to the fundamental physical processes driving MIZ variability. To address this, new techniques have been developed to determine MIZ width based on the detection of waves and calculation of significant wave height attenuation from variations in ICESat-2 surface heights. The poleward MIZ limit (boundary) is defined as the location where significant wave height attenuation equals the estimated satellite height error. Extensive automated and manual acceptance/rejection criteria are employed to ensure confidence in MIZ width estimates, due to significant cloud contamination of ICESat-2 data or where wave attenuation was not observed. Analysis of 304 MIZ width estimates retrieved from four months of 2019 (February, May, September and December) revealed that sea ice concentration-derived MIZ width estimates were far narrower (by a factor of ~7) than those from the new techniques presented here. These results suggest that indirect methods of MIZ estimation based on sea ice concentration are insufficient for representing physical processes that define the MIZ. Improved measurements of MIZ width based on wave attenuation will play an important role in increasing our understanding of this complex sea ice zone.

A study on the drag coefficient in wave attenuation by vegetation

Vegetation in wetlands is a large-scale nature-based resource providing a myriad of services for human beings and the environment, such as dissipating incoming wave energy and protecting coastal areas. For understanding wave height attenuation by vegetation, there are two main traditional calibration approaches to the drag effect acting on the vegetation. One of them is based on the rule that wave height decays through the vegetated area by a reciprocal function and another by an exponential function. In both functions, the local wave height reduces with distance from the beginning of the vegetation depending on damping factors. These two damping factors, which are usually obtained from calibration by measured local wave height, are linked to the drag coefficient and measurable parameters, respectively. So the drag coefficient that quantifies the effect of the vegetation can be calculated by different methods, followed by connecting this coefficient to hydraulic parameters to make it predictable. In this study, two relations between these two damping factors and methods to calculate the drag coefficient have been investigated by 99 laboratory experiments. Finally, relations between the drag coefficient and relevant hydraulic parameters were analyzed. The results show that emergent conditions of the vegetation should be considered when studying the drag coefficient; traditional methods which had overlooked this condition cannot perform well when the vegetation was emerged. The new method based on the relation between these two damping factors performed as well as the well-recognized method for emerged and submerged vegetation. Additionally, the Keulegan–Carpenter number can be a suitable hydraulic parameter to predict the drag coefficient and only the experimental setup, especially the densities of the vegetation, can affect the prediction equations.

A study on the drag coefficient in wave attenuation by vegetation

Vegetation in wetlands is a large-scale nature-based resource providing a myriad of services for human beings and the environment, such as dissipating incoming wave energy and protecting coastal areas. For understanding wave height attenuation by vegetation, there are two main traditional calibration approaches to the drag effect acting on the vegetation. One of them is based on the rule that wave height decays through the vegetated area by a reciprocal function and another by an exponential function. In both functions, the local wave height reduces with distance from the beginning of the vegetation depending on a damping factor (Eqs. (1) and (4)). These damping factors α' and k' are linked to the drag coefficient CD and measurable parameters (Eqs. (3) and (5)). So there are two methods to predict CD that quantify the effect of vegetation. In this study, a new equation is derived that connects these two damping factors (Eq. (12)). The different relations and methods to predicting the drag coefficient CD have been investigated by 99 laboratory experiments. Finally, different relations between CD and relevant parameters (Re, KC, and Ur) have been analyzed. The results show that α' approximately equals k' only for fully submerged vegetation, while the new equation can be used for both emerged and submerged canopy. It appears that the methods for predicting CD by Dean (1979) and Kobayashi et al. (1993) are consistent with the well-recognized method by Dalrymple et al. (1984) for submerged vegetated canopy. But when the vegetation emerges, only the new method based on Eq. (12) leads to almost the same results as Dalrymple et al. (1984). Hence, Eq. (12) has built a bridge between these two approaches for the wave attenuation by vegetation and has proved applicable to emergent conditions of vegetation as well.

EXAMINATION OF MANGROVE MODELING IN NUMERICAL CALCULATION

A number of studies which handle wave height attenuation effect due to coastal vegetation such as mangroves and coastal forests have been performed. In recent years, for considering effect of the mangrove roots, actual trees have been used for laboratory test. Chang (2019) proposed a formula for calculating C_D and C_M from Re and KC through experiments using a mangrove 3D model printed using actual tree. The C_D and C_M have been estimated experimentally under the condition that the water depth is relatively large and the waves don't break. However, the relationship between the Re number and the KC number and the C_D and C_M have not been investigated. Therefore, we conducted experiments focusing on the arrangement and density of the forest zone and trunk thickness. Then we demonstrated the validity of our analysis based on the comparison of our result and results of previous studies. The aim of this study is to establish a modeling method for coastal vegetation in order to enable calculation of the wave attenuation effect due to mangroves using numerical calculation.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/bcNlvRSvJQk

Drag Force Modeling of Surface Wave Dissipation by a Vegetation Field

In this paper, we explore the use of coastal vegetation as a natural barrier to defend our shoreline from hazards caused by large wind waves, storm surges, and tsunamis. A numerical model based on XBeach is employed to evaluate the wave damping by vegetation. An explicit formula for the required drag coefficient used to help describe the additional force imposed by the vegetation is developed through a series of numerical experiments. Overall, our predictions agree reasonably with available laboratory data in the literature for various incident wave conditions and vegetation configurations. Our analysis suggests that a small unvegetated open space in the middle of a vegetation strip does not have a significant impact on the amount of wave height attenuation at the exit of the vegetated bed.

A Study of Wave Dissipation Rate and Particles Velocity in Muddy Beds

The interactions between free surface waves and layers of cohesive sediments including wave height attenuation and mud movement are of great importance in coastal and marine engineering. In this study, the results from a new analytical model were compared with those from literature experimental works and analytical models in terms of wave height dissipation rate and mud velocity. It was found that the new model provided good agreements in the case of coexisting waves and currents, while the literature model of Ng (explained in Section 2 of the text) —assuming the mud layer as a highly viscous layer with high shear rates—matched well with the experimental data for high viscosity (mud viscosity, νm = O [0.01 m2/s]). In addition, it was found that the new model is able to successfully simulate particles velocity in the presence of co-current.

Wave energy dissipation in the mangrove vegetation off Mumbai, India

Coastal regions of India are prone to sea level rise, cyclones, storm surges and human induced activities, resulting in flood, erosion and inundation. The primary aim of the study is to estimate wave energy attenuation by mangrove vegetation using SWAN model, and validate the model results with measurements for the Mumbai coastal region. Wave measurements were carried out during 5–8 August 2015 at 3 locations in a transect normal to the coast using surface mounted pressure level sensors in spring tide conditions. The measured data presents wave height attenuation of the order of 52 %. The study shows a linear relationship between wave height attenuation and gradual changes in water level in the nearshore region, in phase with the tides. Model set-up and sensitivity analyses were conducted to understand the model performance to vegetation parameters. It was observed that wave attenuation increases with an increase in drag coefficient, vegetation density and stem diameter. For a typical set-up for Mumbai coastal region having vegetation density of 0.175 per m2, stem diameter of 0.3 m and drag coefficient varying from 0.4 to 1.5, the model reproduced attenuation, ranging from 49 to 55 %, which matches well with the measured data. Spectral analysis performed for the cases with and without vegetation very clearly portrays energy dissipation in the vegetation area. This study has the potential of improving the quality of wave prediction in vegetation areas, especially during monsoon season and extreme weather events.

The Maximum Height and Attenuation of Impulse Waves Generated by Subaerial Landslides

High-speed landslides that flow into reservoirs can cause impulsive water waves. To study the characteristics of the maximum impulse wave’s height and its attenuation, 25 sets of flume experiments were conducted using orthogonal theory and 6 main influencing factors were considered. Taking the impulse wave heights as the evaluation criteria and analyzing the 6 influencing factors at 5 different levels, the characteristics of the maximum impulse wave’s height and its attenuations were obtained. Then, statistical relationships between the maximum wave height and the controlling factors were proposed. Then, by combining the continuity equation and the hydrodynamic open channel transient flow movement equation, the process of landslide wave height attenuation was studied, and it was found that the attenuation of the wave is consistent with exponential attenuation. Then, combined with the data obtained from the orthogonal experiments, an attenuation equation for the surge was derived. Finally, the proposed equation was validated by applying it to the landslides that took place along the shore of the Zipingpu reservoir, which were triggered by the Wenchuan earthquake, and the results indicate that the calculated results are very close to the observed results.