Effects Of Wave Breaking Research Articles

Bedload and suspended load contributions to breaker bar morphodynamics

This study presents measurements of sheet flow processes, grain sorting, and bedload plus suspended load transport rates around a medium-sand breaker bar in a large-scale wave flume. The results offer insights in effects of wave breaking on bedload and grain sorting processes and in the quantitative contributions by bedload and suspended transport to breaker bar morphodynamics. Sheet flow layer dynamics are highly similar to observations under non-breaking waves, revealing clear effects by velocity asymmetry but no evident effects by breaking-generated turbulence, bed slope, or the cross-shore non-uniform flow. The sheet flow layer thickness can be predicted using existing empirical formulations based on local hydrodynamic forcing. At locations covering the shoaling region up to the bar crest the cross-shore variation in bedload transport rates is explained by variations in wave shape (i.e. velocity skewness and asymmetry). At locations between bar crest and bar trough, bedload transport rate magnitudes correlate positively with bed slope and turbulent kinetic energy. Bedload and suspended load transport rates are of similar magnitude but of opposite sign. Bedload transport is onshore-directed and dominates in the shoaling zone, but after wave breaking, the offshore-directed suspended sediment transport increases in magnitude and exceeds bedload transport rates in the breaking and inner surf zones. Bedload and suspended load transport contribute notably differently to bed profile evolution: bedload transfers sand grains from the offshore slope to the bar crest and additionally leads to erosion of the shoreward bar slope and deposition at the bar trough, while suspended load transport induces an opposite pattern of erosion at the bar trough and accretion at the bar crest. Grain size analysis of suspended sediment samples reveals size-selective entrainment and vertical size segregation in the inner surf zone, but suggest size-indifferent entrainment and vertical mixing by energetic vortices in the breaking region. Size-selective transport by bedload and suspended load leads to a cross-shore coarsening of the bed from shoaling to inner surf zone, with local additional sorting mechanisms around the breaker bar due to bed slope effects.

Assessing the performance of formulations for nonlinear feedback of surface gravity waves on ocean currents over coastal waters

This study presents applications of a two-way coupled wave-circulation modelling system over coastal waters, with a special emphasis of performance assessments of two different methods for nonlinear feedback of ocean surface gravity waves on three-dimensional (3D) ocean currents. These two methods are the vortex force (VF) formulation suggested by Bennis et al. (2011) and the latest version of radiation stress (RS) formulation suggested by Mellor (2015). The coupled modelling system is first applied to two idealized test cases of surf-zone scales to validate implementations of these two methods in the coupled wave-circulation system. Model results show that the latest version of RS has difficulties in producing the undertow over the surf zone. The coupled system is then applied to Lunenburg Bay (LB) of Nova Scotia during Hurricane Juan in 2003. The coupled system using both the VF and RS formulations generates much stronger and more realistic 3D circulation in the Bay during Hurricane Juan than the circulation-only model, demonstrating the importance of surface wave forces to the 3D ocean circulation over coastal waters. However, the RS formulation generates some weak unphysical currents outside the wave breaking zone due to a less reasonable representation for the vertical distribution of the RS gradients over a slopping bottom. These weak unphysical currents are significantly magnified in a two-way coupled system when interacting with large surface waves, degrading the model performance in simulating currents at one observation site. Our results demonstrate that the VF formulation with an appropriate parameterization of wave breaking effects is able to produce reasonable results for applications over coastal waters during extreme weather events. The RS formulation requires a complex wave theory rather than the linear wave theory for the approximation of a vertical RS term to improve its performance under both breaking and non-breaking wave conditions.

A multi-scale model for hair follicles reveals heterogeneous domains driving rapid spatiotemporal hair growth patterning.

The control principles behind robust cyclic regeneration of hair follicles (HFs) remain unclear. Using multi-scale modeling, we show that coupling inhibitors and activators with physical growth of HFs is sufficient to drive periodicity and excitability of hair regeneration. Model simulations and experimental data reveal that mouse skin behaves as a heterogeneous regenerative field, composed of anatomical domains where HFs have distinct cycling dynamics. Interactions between fast-cycling chin and ventral HFs and slow-cycling dorsal HFs produce bilaterally symmetric patterns. Ear skin behaves as a hyper-refractory domain with HFs in extended rest phase. Such hyper-refractivity relates to high levels of BMP ligands and WNT antagonists, in part expressed by ear-specific cartilage and muscle. Hair growth stops at the boundaries with hyper-refractory ears and anatomically discontinuous eyelids, generating wave-breaking effects. We posit that similar mechanisms for coupled regeneration with dominant activator, hyper-refractory, and wave-breaker regions can operate in other actively renewing organs.

Numerical study on influences of breakwater layout on coastal waves, wave-induced currents, sediment transport and beach morphological evolution

This study provides a numerical model to investigate the influences of breakwater layout on coastal waves, wave-induced currents, sediment transport and beach morphological evolution in the vicinity of breakwater. The numerical model is developed based on the sub-models for nearshore wave, wave-induced current, sediment transport and beach morphological evolution. Nearshore wave is simulated based on the parabolic mild-slope equation considering wave refraction, diffraction and breaking effects. Wave-induced nearshore current is modeled using the nonlinear shallow water equations in which wave radiation stresses are provided by wave model for driving current. Then, the two-dimensional suspended sediment transport equation, bed-load equation and coast beach morphological evolution are coupled with the wave and current models for simulating sediment transport and morphological evolution in coastal waves and wave-induced currents. The numerical model is firstly tested by the experiment results for coastal waves, near-shore currents, sediment transport and beach morphological evolution around breakwater from the Large-scale Sediment Transport Facility at the US Army Corps of Engineer Research and Development Center (Gravens and Wang, 2007). Then the model is used to study the influences of breakwater layout on coastal waves, wave-induced currents, sediment transport and beach morphological evolution by set several breakwater layouts in the LSTF basin.

TIME DOMAIN COMPARISONS OF MEASURED AND SPECTRALLY SIMULATED BREAKING WAVES

For realistic wave simulations in the nearshore zone besides nonlinear interactions, the dissipative effects of wave breaking must also be taken into account. This paper presents the applications of a spectral nonlinear wave model with a dissipative breaking mechanism introduced by Beji and Nadaoka (1997). Results obtained for spectral components are converted to the time series and compared with Beji and Battjes' (1993) laboratory measurements and the field measurements of Nakamura and Katoh (1992) in the surf zone. While the model predicts the spilling-type breaking of irregular waves in acceptable agreement with the measurements in time domain, the agreement is unsatisfactory for plunging-type breakers.

Passing on the excitement of experimental oceanography

Having graduated from the University of Victoria in 1995 with David Farmer as my advisor, I learned how exciting it is to work at the cutting-edge of experimental oceanography. During my Ph.D., I studied bubble mediated air-sea gas exchange which involved chasing winter storms in the NE Pacific by ship. That work inspired our study of the role of tropical cyclones in the global carbon cycle using air deployed gas sensing floats equipped with ambient noise recorders to evaluate wave breaking effects. I was also inspired when David enthusiastically showed me on the echosounder internal waves passing under the boat in Knight Inlet. I will present our recent AUV measurements made in prominent estuarine features (e.g., salt wedge and internal hydraulic jump) and discuss the impact of these features on suspended sediment distributions and underwater acoustic communications.

Backward Raman amplification in the long-wavelength infrared

The wealth of work in backward Raman amplification in plasma has focused on the extreme intensity limit; however, backward Raman amplification may also provide an effective and practical mechanism for generating intense, broad bandwidth, long-wavelength infrared radiation (LWIR). An electromagnetic simulation coupled with a relativistic cold fluid plasma model is used to demonstrate the generation of picosecond pulses at a wavelength of 10 μm with terawatt powers through backward Raman amplification. The effects of collisional damping, Landau damping, pump depletion, and wave breaking are examined, as well as the resulting design considerations for an LWIR Raman amplifier.

Sensitivity of typhoon modeling to surface waves and rainfall

AbstractImproving intensity simulation and forecast of tropical cyclones has always been a challenge, although in recent years the track forecasts have been remarkably improved. In this study, we explore the sensitivity of typhoon simulation to three physical processes using a fully coupled atmosphere‐ocean‐wave model. Two storms, a strong and a weak one, have been chosen. The effects of wave breaking induced sea spray, ocean vertical mixing associated with nonbreaking surface waves, and sea surface cooling due to intense rainfall are assessed by means of a set of numerical experiments. The results show and confirm that sea spray leads to an increase of typhoon intensity by enhancing the air‐sea heat flux, while nonbreaking wave‐induced vertical mixing and rainfall lead to a decrease. Each process can be relevant, depending on wind and wave conditions. These can vary dramatically when typhoons interact with not sufficiently well‐defined coastal areas, typically an archipelago. Compared with the control runs, when all the three physical processes are considered, the (absolute) difference between the modeled sea level pressure and best track data is reduced from 26.05 to 0.70 hPa for typhoon Haiyan, and from −9.42 to −8.67 hPa for typhoon Jebi. We have found a steady overestimate of the dimensions of the typhoons. We have verified an extreme sensitivity to the initial conditions, especially when small differences in the typhoon track may imply different relevance of the physical processes, like the ones we have considered, governing the evolution of the storm.

Numerical simulation of sediment transport in coastal waves and wave-induced currents

Prediction of coastal sediment transport is of particularly importance for analyzing coast erosion accurately and solving the corresponding coast protection engineering problems. The present study provided a numerical scheme for sediment transport in coastal waves and wave-induced currents. In the scheme, the sand transport model was implemented with wave refraction-diffraction model and near-shore current model. Coastal water wave was simulated by using the parabolic mild-slope equation in which wave refraction, diffraction and breaking effects are considered. Wave-induced current was simulated by using the nonlinear shallow water equations in which wave provides radiation stresses for driving current. Then, sediment transport in waves and wave-induced currents was simulated by using the two-dimensional suspended sediment transport equations for suspended sediment and the bed-load transport equation for bed load. The numerical scheme was validated by experiment results from the Large-scale Sediment Transport Facility at the US Army Corps of Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg. The numerical results showed that the present scheme is an effective tool for modeling coastal sediment transport in waves and near-shore currents.

Are breaking waves, bores, surges and jumps the same flow?

The flow structure in the aerated region of the roller generated by breaking waves remains a great challenge to study, with large quantities of entrained air and turbulence interactions making it very difficult to investigate in details. A number of analogies were proposed between breaking waves in deep or shallow water, tidal bores and hydraulic jumps. Many numerical models used to simulate waves in the surf zone do not implicitly simulate the breaking process of the waves, but are required to parameterise the wave-breaking effects, thus relying on experimental data. Analogies are also assumed to quantify the roller dynamics and the energy dissipation. The scope of this paper is to review the different analogies proposed in the literature and to discuss current practices. A thorough survey is offered and a discussion is developed an aimed at improving the use of possible breaking proxies. The most recent data are revisited and scrutinised for the use of most advanced numerical models to educe the surf zone hydrodynamics. In particular, the roller dynamics and geometrical characteristics are discussed. An open discussion is proposed to explore the actual practices and propose perspectives based on the most appropriate analogy, namely the tidal bore.

Numerical investigation of the interaction between linear/nonlinear waves and breakwater

Based on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations and the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method, a numerical wave tank, including wave generation, propagation and damping zones, is set up. Nonlinear regular waves of large amplitude are simulated in a vertical two-dimensional (2D) wave flume. The wave generation with the relaxation zone, which damps the reflected waves from structures in the numerical wave flume, is implemented using the momentum source method. The computed wave profiles agree well with the target wave profiles. Interactions between wave and floating semisubmersible box-type breakwater are studied. The relationships between the ratio of breakwater length to wavelength and transmission coefficients are predicted and compared with the analytical solution of linear waves and the experimental data. Results demonstrate that the transmission coefficient is markedly affected by both ratio of breakwater length to wavelength and the water draught. But wave amplitude does not distinctly affect the transmission coefficient for regular waves. For the cases of interaction of a floating breakwater and large amplitude wave, the effects of wave breaking, run-up and overtopping are discussed.

A mixing length model for the aqueous boundary layer including the effect of wave breaking on enhancing gas transfer

A mixing length model for air-water gas transfer is developed to include the effects of wave breaking. The model requires both the shear velocity induced by the wind and the integrated wave dissipation. Both of these can be calculated for tanks and oceans by a full spectrum wave model. The gas transfer model is calibrated, with laboratory tank measurements of carbon dioxide flux, and transported to oceanic conditions to yield air-sea transfer velocity versus wind speed.

Vertical temperature dynamics in the Northern Baltic Sea based on 3D modelling and data from shallow-water Argo floats

3D hydrodynamic models often produce errors in the depth of the mixed layer and the vertical density structure. We used the 3D hydrodynamic model NEMO to investigate the effect of vertical turbulence parameterisations on seasonal temperature dynamics in the Bothnian Sea, Baltic Sea for the years 2012 and 2013. We used vertical profiles from new shallow-water Argo floats, operational in the area since 2012, to validate our model. We found that NEMO was able to reproduce the general features of the seasonal temperature variations in the study area, when meteorological forcing was accurate. The k-ε and k-ω schemes were selected for a more detailed analysis. Both schemes showed clear differences, but neither proved superior. While sea surface temperature was better simulated with the k-ω scheme, thermocline depth was clearly better with the k-ε scheme. We investigated the effect of wave-breaking on the mixing of the surface layer. The Craig and Banner parameterisation clearly improved the representation of thermocline depth. However, further tuning of the mixing parameterisations for the Baltic Sea is needed to better simulate the vertical temperature structure. We found the autonomous Baltic Sea Argo floats valuable for model validation and performance evaluation.

The study on the bottom friction and the breaking coefficient for typhoon waves in radial sand ridges—the Lanshayang Channel as an example

Owing to the interactions among the complex terrain, bottom materials, and the complicate hydrodynamics, typhoon waves show special characteristics as big waves appeared at the high water level (HWL) and small waves emerged at low and middle water levels (LWL and MWL) in radial sand ridges (RSR). It is assumed that the mud damping, sandy bed friction and wave breaking effects have a great influence on the typhoon wave propagation in this area. Under the low wave energy, a mud layer will form and transport into the shallow area, thus the mud damping effects dominate at the LWL and the MWL. And high Collins coefficient (c around 1) can be applied to computing the damping effects at the LWL and the MWL. But under the high wave energy, the bottom sediment will be stirred and suspended, and then the damping effects disappear at the HWL. Thus the varying Collins coefficient with the water level method (VCWL) is implemented into the SWAN to model the typhoon wave process in the Lanshayang Channel (LSYC) of the RSR, the observed wave data under “Winnie” (“9711”) typhoon was used as validation. The results show that the typhoon wave in the RSR area is able to be simulated by the VCWL method concisely, and a constant wave breaking coefficient (γ) equaling 0.78 is better for the RSR where wide tidal flats and gentle bed slopes exist.

Lagrangian Measurement of Waves and Near Surface Turbulence from Acoustic Instruments

We demonstrate high-resolution measurements of upper ocean flow and turbulence using a Lagrangian drifter. A spherical buoy as a quasi-wave following drifter mitigate the contaminations induced by wave orbital velocities and motion-induced disturbances. The platform, with dimensions of 1.13 m diameter and 4.30 m overall length, is modified to include an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter to measure time series of velocity fluctuations, a GPS logger, two GoPro video cameras to estimate both platform orientation and sea surface topography evolution, and a 5-beam Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler to collect near the surface velocity profiles. Results are reported from a 2-hour test deployment in November 2014, off Karmøy, Norway. This flexible measuring system is designed for a wide range of air-sea interaction studies, including the effect of wave breaking on the upper ocean variability. Such process understanding is of interest for the estimation of loads on fixed and floating offshore structures, and for efficient and optimal design of offshore platforms.

Can inertia‐gravity waves persistently alter the tropopause inversion layer?

AbstractPrevious simulations of baroclinic life cycles have shown, among many other features, the evolution of a tropopause inversion layer (TIL) as well as the spontaneous emission of inertia‐gravity waves (IGWs). This study suggests that the latter two are related to each other, i.e., that IGWs may affect the TIL in a persistent manner. The IGWs are emitted along the jet and grow to large amplitudes, leading to the appearance of low‐gradient Richardson numbers that indicate Kelvin‐Helmholtz instability. Ensuing energy dissipation, local heating, and turbulence may persistently alter the thermodynamical structure of the tropopause region and, therefore, contribute to TIL formation or alter an existing TIL. Moreover, the flow in the region of the IGW favors the occurrence of wave capture, which may enhance the effect of wave breaking.

SANDT-PRO: SEDIMENT TRANSPORT MEASUREMENTS UNDER IRREGULAR AND BREAKING WAVES

First results are presented of a measurement campaign done in the large-scale Barcelona CIEM wave flume from October 2013 to January 2014. The aim of the experiments was to improve our understanding of sediment transport processes in the near-shore region. In particular, we focused on the effects of (1) wave breaking and (2) wave irregularity on net sediment transport rates and sediment transport processes. High-resolution measurements were obtained using advanced instrumentation, deployed from a custom-built measuring frame that could be horizontally and vertically positioned. These instruments provide detailed insights in the vertical distributions of sediment fluxes. Preliminary results from the breaking-wave experiments show an onshore transport of sediment prior to breaking, likely to be dominated by wave-nonlinearity effects, and an offshore sediment flux shoreward of breaking, where the sediment fluxes are undertow-dominated.

Stability formula and failure probability analysis of wave-dissipating blocks considering wave breaking

The effects of wave steepness and wave breaking on the stability of wave-dissipating blocks placed on caisson breakwaters are examined by hydraulic experiments under conditions with and without wave breaking. It is confirmed that there is a clear dependence of the block stability on the wave steepness through the wave-breaking type, such as plunging and spilling breakers. The stability parameter in the spilling breaker case is larger than that in the plunging breaker case. For non-breaking wave conditions, there is no effect of the wave steepness. An empirical stability formula is proposed taking into account the effects of the wave steepness and the wave-breaking type. Finally, by using the stability formula, failure probabilities of the wave-dissipating blocks having a nominal diameter are evaluated by the first-order reliability method of the Level II reliability analysis.

Modeling nonlinear wave–wave interactions with the elliptic mild slope equation

An approach is developed to simulate wave–wave interactions using nonlinear elliptic mild-slope equation in domains where wave reflection, refraction, diffraction and breaking effects must also be considered. This involves the construction of an efficient solution procedure including effective boundary treatment, modification of the nonlinear equation to resolve convergence issues, and validation of the overall approach. For solving the second-order boundary-value problem, the Alternating Direction Implicit (ADI) scheme is employed, and the use of approximate boundary conditions is supplemented, for improved accuracy, with internal wave generation method and dissipative sponge layers. The performance of the nonlinear model is investigated for a range of practical wave conditions involving reflection, diffraction and shoaling in the presence of nonlinear wave–wave interactions. In addition, the transformation of a wave spectrum due to nonlinear shoaling and breaking, and nonlinear resonance inside a rectangular harbor are simulated. Numerical calculations are compared with the results from other relevant nonlinear models and experimental data available in literature. Results show that the approach developed here performs reasonably well, and has thus improved the applicability of this class of wave transformation models.

Numerical Simulation of Wave Transformation Using Spectral Wave Action Model

This paper presents a spectral wave action model to simulate random wave deformation and transformation. The wave model is based on the wave action balance equation and can simulate wave fields by accounting for wave breaking, shoaling, refraction, diffraction and wind effect in coastal waters. It is a finite-difference, phase averaged model for the steady-state wave spectral transformation. The wave model is applied to verify different experimental cases and real life case of considering the several factor effects. The calculated results agree with the experimental and field data. The results show that the wave model presented herein should be useful in simulating the wave transformation processes in complicated coastal waters.