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Hydrodynamic forces and surface topography: Centimeter‐scale spatial variation in wave forces
Author(s) -
O'Donnell Michael J.,
Denny Mark W.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.2008.53.2.0579
Subject(s) - transect , geology , scale (ratio) , shore , centimeter , spatial variability , mechanics , geodesy , physics , oceanography , mathematics , quantum mechanics , statistics , astronomy
We measured the variability in hydrodynamic forces among locations separated by only centimeters along three horizontal transects on a steep rocky shore. Our results extend previous work showing that wave forces have the characteristics of 1/ f ‐noise, in which variability in wave forces decreases exponentially with decreasing scales of measurement. Furthermore, our results suggest that protection from hydrodynamic forces is not a certain consequence of a rugose substratum, suggesting that investigators should directly test (rather than assume) small‐scale topographic protection from hydrodynamic forces.