Near Shore Wave Processes
Abstract
The long-term goals of this research are to predict the wave-induced three-dimensional velocity field and induced sediment transport over arbitrary bathymetry in the near shore given the offshore wave conditions. We hypothesize that the wave-induced kinematic, sediment, and morphologic processes are nonlinearly interrelated at the same space and time scales, so that it is necessary to measure all processes simultaneously over the water column to understand each individual process. The primary mechanism for changes in the moment flux that drives the near shore dynamics is due to the dissipation of breaking waves, the processes of which are only poorly understood. To improve our understanding of breaking waves, the dissipation associated with bubble injection is measured along with the velocity fields over the vertical. Bottom boundary layer measurements are obtained to determine bottom stress and dissipation. Sediment transport is measured in response to the measured mean longshore and cross-shore currents, wave velocities, and induced stresses. The small-scale morphology, which acts as hydraulic roughness for the mean flows and perturbs the velocity-sediment fields, is measured as a function of time and over large areas to examine cross-shore and alongshore variation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA551598
Entities
People
- Edward B. Thornton
- Timothy P. Stanton
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School