Numerical Analysis on Influences of Emergent Vegetation Patch on Runup Processes of Focused Wave Groups

Abstract

During severe weather, the runup of the devasting surges and waves can cause extensive damages to the coastal facilities and results in significant loss of life. Therefore, it becomes necessary to find reliable measures to reduce the wave runup in coastal regions. As a natural barrier to the shorelines, coastal vegetation has great potential to attenuate wave runup and to prevent the coastal communities from extreme floodings and huge land loss. This study numerically discusses the influences of the emergent vegetation patch on the runup processes of extreme wave groups by applying a nonhydrostatic flow solver. Influences of the major factors, i.e., water depth, peak wave period, significant wave height, and density and length of the vegetation patch, are analyzed in detail. Research findings indicate that the presence of the emergent vegetation patch can substantially dissipate most of the incident wave energy and effectively reduce the maximum wave runup heights of extreme wave groups at the sloped beach. It is hoped that the research results of this study will be helpful to the design of coastal soft protection measures.

Influence of Excavation Pits on the Wave Hydrodynamics of Fringing Reefs under Regular Waves

“…Wang et al [43] investigated the propagation and deformation processes of waves at complex coastlines using a potential flow model. By utilizing a non-hydrostatic wave model [44,45], a two-phase wave model [46], and a smoothed particle hydrodynamics model (SPH) [47], the researchers extensively discussed the influences of the main factors, i.e., wave height, wave period, water depth, and reef configurations, etc., on the hydrodynamics of fringing reefs [45][46][47]. Recently, the influences of onshore wind [48] and the permeability of reef flats [49] on the wave hydrodynamics of fringing reefs were also numerically investigated.…”

Potential of Transplanted Seagrass Meadows on Wave Attenuation in a Fetch-Limited Environment

“…Therefore, building resilient communities is a challenge for populations living along the coast [10]. To address this challenge, communities usually build barriers along the coast to protect their assets [11][12][13][14]. Nevertheless, engineered solutions may cause negative impacts on sediment dynamics [15,16].…”

“…are unsustainable [17]. Such measures may be very expensive to construct and maintain and can generate undesired impacts including degradation of habitats and shoreline erosion [14,18,19], affecting communities that depend on healthy coastal ecosystems [20].…”

Hydrodynamic Loads and Overtopping Processes of a Coastal Seawall under the Coupled Impact of Extreme Waves and Wind

“…To protect the coast from the damaging power of extreme waves, coastal protection facilities, i.e., seawalls and breakwaters, are often constructed on the coast. These wind-intensified strong waves threaten the integrity and stability of these coastal protection facilities, which are essential to the safety of the coastal region [1,2]. In a real ocean environment, strong winds and ocean waves coexist during hurricanes [3,4].…”