Observations and Modeling of Wind Waves in a Shallow Estuary: Galveston Bay, Texas
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 4
Abstract
An observational wave study was conducted to test empirical relations and compare with numerical model results in shallow water environments. Relations among nondimensional water-depth, nondimensional wave-energy, and nondimensional peak-frequency are presented based on both subsurface pressure and velocity time-series collected in Galveston Bay, Texas. The values reported here provide further confirmation of nondimensional wave parameterizations over a range spanning two orders of magnitude of the nondimensional depth. A comparison of observed wave statistics (significant wave heights, peak periods, and wave directions) to numerical model hindcasts was found to be in good agreement with the observations. Further inspection of the observed and modeled energy spectra showed that peak periods were in good agreement, although the modeled spectra were less peaked.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Gaurav Singhal, Ron Lehman, and Pak Tao Leung for their assistance during the field work. The authors would also like to thank the reviewers for their helpful comments, which have helped to improve an earlier draft of the manuscript. This work was partly supported by a grant from the Texas Sea Grant Program.
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Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 4 • July 2013
Pages: 314 - 325
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 22, 2011
Accepted: Jul 12, 2012
Published online: Jul 28, 2012
Published in print: Jul 1, 2013
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