Effect of Sea Level Rise and Offshore Wave Height Change on Nearshore Waves and Coastal Structures

Abstract

In 1994, Townend proposed a method to calculate the relative changes in various wave characteristics and structure-related parameters due to sea level rise for regular waves. The method was extended to irregular waves by Cheon and Suh in 2016. In this study, this method is further extended to include the effect of future change in offshore wave height and the sea level rise. The relative changes in wavelength, refraction coefficient, shoaling coefficient, and wave height in nearshore area are presented as functions of the relative changes in water depth and offshore wave height. The calculated relative changes in wave characteristics are then used to estimate the effect of sea level rise and offshore wave height change on coastal structures by calculating the relative changes in wave run-up height, overtopping discharge, crest freeboard, and armor weight of the structures. The relative changes in wave characteristics and structure-related parameters are all expressed as a function of the relative water depth for various combinations of the relative changes in water depth and offshore wave height.