Analysis of a 10-Year Record of Nearshore Directional Wave Spectra and Implications to Littoral Processes Research and Engineering Practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Montoya, L.H. and Dally, W.R., 2016. Analysis of a 10-year record of nearshore directional wave spectra and implications to littoral processes research and engineering practice. Slightly more than 10 years (August 28, 2001, to October 28, 2011) of high-resolution directional wave spectra were measured by an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler installed in the nearshore at Spessard Holland North Beach Park in Melbourne Beach, Florida. Analysis of the record yields an average wave power of 17.6 MW/m of shoreline but with a standard deviation of 22.5 MW/m. Cumulative annual wave power ranged from 43,455 to 93,722 MWh/m, and the annual storm count was between 3 and 14. The mean spectrum for the entire record shows an almost symmetric directional distribution of wave energy centered on the shore-normal direction, which is somewhat unexpected considering that the net longshore transport in the region is definitively N-S. Partitioning the data into shore-normal, NE, and SE windows shows that most wave ene...