Open AccessTIDAL INLET CURRENT--OCEAN WAVE INTERACTION
Author(s) -
Lyndell Z. Hales,
John B. Herbich
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
proceedings of conference on coastal engineering/proceedings of ... conference on coastal engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2156-1028
pISSN - 0589-087X
DOI - 10.9753/icce.v13.33
Subject(s) - inlet , dimensionless quantity , tidal current , current (fluid) , crest , mechanics , front (military) , geology , breaking wave , limit (mathematics) , internal wave , wind wave , physics , meteorology , oceanography , wave propagation , mathematics , optics , mathematical analysis
An experimental study was conducted in a three-dimensional wave basin to investigate the manner in which surface gravity waves propagating toward a tidal inlet are altered. Dimensional analysis of the pertinent variables indicates that a functional relationship exists between as many as five dimensionless terms, and the functional relationship is displayed in graphical non-dimensional form to apply to all scales. Results indicate the ebb current increases the steepness in the ocean region to such an extent that the wave begins to lose energy by the crest spilling down the front of the wave, and the wave characteristics in the inlet proper may never reach the breaking limit unless factors other than a current alone are involved.