2DH Numerical Study of Solitary Wave Processes around an Idealized Reef-Fringed Island

Abstract

In order to better understand the role of coral reefs around an isolated island in mitigating tsunami hazards, this study performed a horizontally two-dimensional (2DH) numerical study of tsunami-like solitary wave propagation and run-up around an idealized reef-fringed island. The shock-capturing Boussinesq wave model, the FUNWAVE-TVD is used in the present study and well-validated with existing experimental data for its robustness in predicting 2DH solitary wave processes around an island. Based on the validated model, the typical solitary propagation process around the reef-fringed island and the effects of morphological and hydrodynamic parameters on the maximum run-up heights were systematically investigated. It is found that coral reefs can effectively reduce maximum run-up heights around an isolated island. The reef flat’s water depth, reef flat width, and reef surface roughness are the main factors affecting maximum run-up heights around an island, while the fore-reef slope has little impact. For the idealized reef-fringed island in this study, sea-level rise will cause coral reefs to lose their protective capability on the lee side, and the presence of coral reefs may even enhance tsunami hazards around an island when the reef flat width is very narrow or coral bleaching happens.

Keywords

• reef-fringed island
• solitary wave
• 2DH numerical study
• maximum run-up heights
• climate change