Evolution of wave and tide over vegetation region in nearshore waters

Abstract

Coastal wetlands are an important ecosystem in nearshore regions, where complex flow characteristics occur because of the interactions among tides, waves, and plants, especially in the discontinuous flow of the intertidal zone. In order to simulate the wave and wave-induced current in coastal waters, in this study, an explicit depth-averaged hydrodynamic (HD) model has been dynamically coupled with a wave spectral model (CMS-Wave) by sharing the tide and wave data. The hydrodynamic model is based on the finite volume method; the intercell flux is computed using the Harten–Lax–van Leer (HLL) approximate Riemann solver for computing the dry-to-wet interface; the drag force of vegetation is modeled as the sink terms in the momentum equations. An empirical wave energy dissipation term with plant effect has been derived from the wave action balance equation to account for the resistance induced by aquatic vegetation in the CMS-Wave model. The results of the coupling model have been verified using the measured data for the case with wave-tide-vegetation interactions. The results show that the wave height decreases significantly along the wave propagation direction in the presence of vegetation. In the rip channel system, the oblique waves drive a meandering longshore current; it moves from left to right past the cusps with oscillations. In the vegetated region, the wave height is greatly attenuated due to the presence of vegetation, and the radiation stresses are noticeably changed as compared to the region without vegetation. Further, vegetation can affect the spatial distribution of mean velocity in a rip channel system. In the co-exiting environment of tides, waves, and vegetation, the locations of wave breaking and wave-induced radiation stress also vary with the water level of flooding or ebb tide in wetland water, which can also affect the development and evolution of wave-induced current.