Static wave setup with emphasis on damping effects by vegetation and bottom friction

Abstract

Wave setup can contribute significantly to elevated water levels during severe storms. In Florida we have found that wave setup can be 30% to 60% of the total 100-year storm surge. In areas with relatively narrow continental shelves, such as many locations along the Pacific Coast of the United States, wave setup can be an even larger proportionate contributor of anomalous water levels during major storms. Wave setup can be considered as comprising two components, with the first being the well-known static wave setup resulting from the transfer of breaking wave momentum to the water column. The second, oscillating component, is a result of nonlinear transfer of energy and momentum from the primary (linear) spectrum to waves with length and time scales on the order of the wave groups. Static wave setup is the focus of this paper with emphasis on effects due to internal or surface forces that act on the wave system and cause both dissipation of wave energy and transfer of momentum. In particular, the effects of wave damping by vegetation and bottom friction are considered. Linear wave theory is applied to illustrate these effects and, for shallow water waves, the setup is reduced by two-thirds the amount that would occur if the same amount of energy dissipation occurred in the absence of forces. Effects of nonlinear waves are then considered and it is found, for a shallow water wave of approximately one-half breaking height, that a wave setdown rather than setup occurs due to damping by vegetation and bottom friction. The problem of wave setup as waves propagate through vegetation was stimulated by studies to establish hazard zones associated with 100-year storm events along the shorelines of the United States. These storms can generate elevated water levels exceeding 4 to 6 m and can result in overland wave propagation. As these waves propagate through vegetation and damp, the question arose as to the contribution of this process to elevated mean water levels through additional wave setup.