Quantification of Two-Dimensional Wave Breaking Dissipation in the Surf Zone from Remote Sensing Data

A method for obtaining two dimensional fields of wave breaking energy dissipation in the surfzone is presented. The method relies on acquiring geometrical parameters of the wave roller from remote sensing data. These parameters are then coupled with a dissipation model to obtain time averaged two dimensional maps, but also the wave breaking energy dissipation on a wave-by-wave basis. Comparison of dissipation maps as obtained from the present technique and a results from a numerical model, show very good correlation in both structure and magnitude. The location of a rip current can also be observed from the field data. Though in the present work a combination of optical and microwave data is used, the underlying method is independent of the remote sensor platform. Therefore, it offers the possibility to acquire high quality and synoptic estimates that could contribute to the understanding of the surfzone hydrodynamics.

[1]  J. Hansen,et al.  Periodic waves in the surf zone: Analysis of experimental data , 1990 .

[2]  M. Longuet-Higgins.  Longshore currents generated by obliquely incident sea waves: 1 , 1970 .

[3]  W. Plant,et al.  Microwave backscattering from surf zone waves , 2014 .

[4]  Rob Holman,et al.  Remote sensing of the nearshore. , 2013, Annual review of marine science.

[5]  R. Holman,et al.  The history and technical capabilities of Argus , 2007 .

[6]  Jerome A. Smith.  Wave–Current Interactions in Finite Depth , 2006 .

[7]  J. Kirby,et al.  BOUSSINESQ MODELING OF WAVE TRANSFORMATION , BREAKING , AND RUNUP . II : 2 D By , 1999 .

[8]  R. He,et al.  Development of a Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) Modeling System , 2010 .

[9]  Andrew T. Jessup,et al.  Acoustic and microwave signatures of breaking waves , 1988, Nature.

[10]  J. Battjes.  Surf-Zone Dynamics , 1988 .

[11]  M. Stive,et al.  Shear stresses and mean flow in shoaling and breaking waves , 1995 .

[12]  Ad Reniers,et al.  Rip current review , 2006 .

[13]  P. Catalán,et al.  Estimating surfzone wave transformation and wave setup from remote sensing data , 2016 .

[14]  C. J. Zappa,et al.  Infrared remote sensing of breaking waves , 1997, Nature.

[15]  Stuart D. Smith.  Coefficients for sea surface wind stress, heat flux, and wind profiles as a function of wind speed and temperature , 1988 .

[16]  Steve Elgar,et al.  Modeling the alongshore current on barred beaches , 2001 .

[17]  J. Thomson.  Wave Breaking Dissipation Observed with “SWIFT” Drifters , 2012 .

[18]  Robert T. Guza,et al.  Observations of nearshore circulation: Alongshore uniformity , 2003 .

[19]  R. Holman,et al.  Surf zone bathymetry and circulation predictions via data assimilation of remote sensing observations , 2014 .

[20]  Steve Elgar,et al.  Radar Remote Sensing Estimates of Waves and Wave Forcing at a Tidal Inlet , 2015 .

[21]  J. A. Battjes,et al.  ENERGY LOSS AND SET-UP DUE TO BREAKING OF RANDOM WAVES , 1978 .

[22]  Patricio A. Catalán,et al.  Remote sensing of wave roller lengths in the laboratory , 2009 .

[23]  Marcel Zijlema,et al.  SWASH: An operational public domain code for simulating wave fields and rapidly varied flows in coas , 2011 .

[24]  Stephan T. Grilli,et al.  A high-order adaptive time-stepping TVD solver for Boussinesq modeling of breaking waves and coastal inundation , 2012 .

[25]  M. Longuet-Higgins,et al.  Radiation stresses in water waves; a physical discussion, with applications , 1964 .

[26]  J. Duncan,et al.  An experimental investigation of breaking waves produced by a towed hydrofoil , 1981, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[27]  Philippe Bonneton,et al.  Wave-Breaking Model for Boussinesq-Type Equations Including Roller Effects in the Mass Conservation Equation , 2010 .

[28]  Bernard Le Mehaute,et al.  ON NON-SATURATED BREAKERS AND THE WAVE RUN-UP , 2011 .

[29]  H. N. Southgate,et al.  CHAPTER 5 Transition Zone Width and Implications for Modelling Surfzone Hydrodynamics , 2010 .

[30]  C. Long.  Index and bulk parameters for frequency-direction spectra measured at CERC field research facility , 1991 .

[31]  D. H. Peregrine,et al.  Surf Zone Currents , 1998 .

[32]  I. A. Svendsen.  Wave Heights and Set-up in a Surf Zone , 1983 .

[33]  J. Thomson,et al.  Estimating wave energy dissipation in the surf zone using thermal infrared imagery , 2015 .

[34]  P. Catalán,et al.  Rip Current Observations via Marine Radar , 2014 .

[35]  Edward B. Thornton,et al.  Transformation of wave height distribution , 1983 .

[36]  Gangfeng Ma,et al.  Shock-capturing non-hydrostatic model for fully dispersive surface wave processes , 2012 .

[37]  S. Elgar,et al.  Vorticity generation by short‐crested wave breaking , 2012 .

[38]  I. A. Svendsen.  Mass flux and undertow in a surf zone , 1984 .

[39]  Domenico Velotto,et al.  Meteo-Marine Parameters and Their Variability Observed by High Resolution Satellite Radar Images. , 2013 .

[40]  N. Booij,et al.  A third-generation wave model for coastal regions-1 , 1999 .

[41]  Zeki Demirbilek,et al.  Parameterization of nearshore wave front slope , 2017 .

[42]  William R. Dally,et al.  A modeling investigation of the breaking wave roller with application to cross‐shore currents , 1995 .

[43]  D. Roelvink,et al.  Modelling storm impacts on beaches, dunes and barrier islands , 2009 .

[44]  R. Deigaard.  A note on the three-dimensional shear stress distribution in a surf zone , 1993 .

[45]  Jurjen A. Battjes,et al.  A laboratory study of longshore currents over barred and non-barred beaches , 1997 .

[46]  William J. Plant,et al.  Optical and Microwave Detection of Wave Breaking in the Surf Zone , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[47]  LARGE-SCALE VORTICITY GENERATION DUE TO DISSIPATING WAVES IN THE SURF ZONE , 2010 .

[48]  C. Mei.  The applied dynamics of ocean surface waves , 1983 .