Wave-induced steady streaming, mass transport and net sediment transport in rough turbulent ocean bottom boundary layers

Abstract

The interaction between two important mechanisms which causes streaming has been investigated by numerical simulations of the seabed boundary layer beneath both sinusoidal waves and Stokes second order waves, as well as horizontally uniform bottom boundary layers with asymmetric forcing. These two mechanisms are streaming caused by turbulence asymmetry in successive wave half-cycles (beneath asymmetric forcing), and streaming caused by the presence of a vertical wave velocity within the seabed boundary layer as earlier explained by Longuet-Higgins. The effect of wave asymmetry, wave length to water depth ratio, and bottom roughness have been investigated for realistic physical situations. The streaming induced sediment dynamics near the ocean bottom has been investigated; both the resulting suspended load and bedload are presented. Finally, the mass transport (wave-averaged Lagrangian velocity) has been studied for a range of wave conditions. The streaming velocities beneath sinusoidal waves (Longuet-Higgins streaming) is always in the direction of wave propagation, while the streaming velocities in horizontally uniform boundary layers with asymmetric forcing are always negative. Thus the effect of asymmetry in second order Stokes waves is either to reduce the streaming velocity in the direction of wave propagation, or, for long waves relative to the water depth, to induce a streaming velocity against the direction of wave propagation. It appears that the Longuet-Higgins streaming decreases as the wave length increases for a given water depth, and the effect of wave asymmetry can dominate, leading to a steady streaming against the wave propagation. Furthermore, the asymmetry of second order Stokes waves reduces the mass transport (wave-averaged Lagrangian velocity) as compared with sinusoidal waves. The boundary layer streaming leads to a wave-averaged transport of suspended sediments and bedload in the direction of wave propagation.