Cross-Shore Variation of Wave Reflection from Beaches
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 123, Issue 5
Abstract
The cross-shore variation of the local reflection coefficient R is examined under the assumptions of normally incident wind waves on beaches with alongshore uniform bathymetry. The existing three-gauge method is modified to estimate R for the sloping bottom. A new method is developed to estimate the incident and reflected root-mean-square (RMS) wave heights from the measured RMS wave height and wave setup. These methods are used to analyze six runs from the large-scale SUPERTANK data set. The estimated values of R are affected little by the formation of a bar and increase shoreward with the increased percentage of breaking waves. One set of the DELILAH field data on a barred beach is also analyzed using collocated pressure and velocity measurements. This data set confirms the negligible effect of the bar on the variation of R over the bar in the absence of wave-breaking on the bar crest. These crude estimates of R suggest that the reflected wind waves may not be negligibly small in comparison to the incident wind waves, especially inside the surf zone.
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Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 123 • Issue 5 • September 1997
Pages: 274 - 279
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Sep 1, 1997
Published in print: Sep 1997
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