Observations of Turbulence in the Surf Zone
Abstract
The turbulence generated by waves breaking on a natural beach is examined using hotfilm anemometer data. Turbulence intensity is estimated from the dissipation rate and an appropriate length scale (a fraction of the water depth). The dissipation rates are determined from wavenumber spectra found by applying Taylor's hypothesis to frequency spectra of short (1/8s) hotfilm time series. The resulting Froude-scaled turbulence intensities are relatively uniform throughout the water column and are similar in vertical structure but lower in magnitude than in existing laboratory studies. The magnitudes of the turbulence intensity observed in both the field and laboratory are consistent with an existing macroscopic model of bore dissipation in the surf zone. Scaling by this bore model relates turbulence intensity levels of monochromatic waves in small-scale laboratory experiments to random waves in the natural surf zone.... Surfzone, Turbulence, Wave breaking, Wave dissipation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA262718
Entities
People
- R. T. Guza
- Reinhard E. Flick
- Ron George
Organizations
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography