Propagation of waves over a rugged topography

Abstract

The propagation of waves in shallow waters is affected by the bottom topography unlike deep water waves of the coastal environment. Due to the interaction of the wave with bed topography, the wave transformation processes occur. Refraction, diffraction, shoaling, and breaking are the wave transformation processes that occur in the coastal environment. The significant wave height over rugged topography is a standardized statistics to denote the characteristic height of the random waves in a sea state. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to predict the significant wave height over rugged topography. The SWAN standalone and SWAN DHH platform are used to predict significant wave height over rugged topography in Mehamn harbour, Norway. The SWAN model results are almost similar to the lab data of Vold and Lothe (2009) for all the 22 scenarios at all the output locations. Further, the four cases reported by Taehun (2011) and lab data from Vold and Lothe (2009) for that four cases are compared with the SWAN model results. It is observed that the SWAN model results are much closer to the lab data of Vold and Lothe (2009).

Keywords

• Wave propagation
• SWAN
• Bathymetry
• Significant wave height
• and Peak wave period