Wave Runup on Variable Beach Profiles

The runup of breaking waves on beach profiles of variable slope is analyzed as a function of beach and offshore profile geometry, variations in stillwater level, and wave characteristics. The representation of composite beach and offshore slopes approximates the profile geometry as a parabolic curve that provides a continuous, smooth representation of the profile geometry and simplifies the calculation of composite slope values. For concave, upward profile geometries with fixed values of wave period and stillwater elevation, the runup is observed to first increase, reach a maximum, and then decrease as the deepwater wave height is increased. Increases in the stillwater level produce higher values of wave runup for fixed wave height and period. For linear profile geometries, the runup is observed to increase continuously with increasing wave height, independently of changes in the stillwater elevation.