Wave measurements along the California coast

Wiegel, Robert L.; Kukk, J.

doi:10.1029/tr038i005p00667

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Almost all of the data were obtained from bottom pressure-type recorders, with their inherent practical and theoretical limitations (Folsom, 1949;Pierson and.Marks, 1952;Fuchs, 1955;Gerhardt, Jehn and Katz, 1955;Neuman, 1955). Similar studies were made with both surface recorders and bottom pressure recorders by Wiegel and Kukk (1957), the results of which are shown in Fig. 5.…”

Section: Wave Characteristicssupporting

confidence: 65%

“…It is believed that the difference, and the sign of the difference, can be explained by the method of analyzing the records of the sub-surface pressure recorders combined with the fact that the sub-surface dynamic pressures decrease more rapidly with depth for the lower period waves than for the longer period waves . Of particular importance is the fact that the surface measurements in the ocean of wind waves and swell of Wiegel and Kukk (1957) resulted in nearly the same ratios as those of the surface measurements by Sibul (1955) of wind-waves generated in a wind-wave tunnel. Although many of the measurements of Sibul were for waves in relatively shallow water the author states that no observable shallow water effect was noticed in the wave height ratios .…”

Section: Wave Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 85%

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Wind Waves and Swell

Wiegel

1960

Int. Conf. Coastal. Eng.

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Winds blowing over the water surface generate waves. In general the higher the wind velocity, the larger the fetch over which it blows, and the longer it blows the higher and longer will be the average waves . Waves still under the action of the winds that created them are called wind waves, or a sea. They are forced waves rather than free waves. They are variable in their direction of advance (Arthur, 1949). They are irregular in the direction of propagation. The flow is rotational due to the shear stress of the wind on the water surface and it is quite turbulent as observations of dye in the water indicates. After the waves leave the generating area their characteristics become somewhat different, principally they are smoother, losing the rough appearance due to the disappearance of the multitude of smaller waves on top of the bigger ones and the whitecaps and spray. When running free of the storm the waves are known as swell. In Fig. 1 are shown some photographs taken in the laboratory of waves still rising under the action of wind and this same wave system after it has left the windy section of the wind-wave tunnel. It can be seen thati-the freely running swell has a smoother appearance than the waves in the windy section. The motion of the swell is nearly irrotational and nonturbulent, unless the swell runs into other regions where the water is in turbulent motion. Turbulence is a property of the fluid rather than of the wave motion. After the waves have travelled a distance from the generating area they have lost some energy due to air resistance, internal friction, and by large scale turbulent scattering if they run into other storm areas, and the rest of the energy has become spread over a larger area due to the dispersive and angular spreading characteristics of water gravity waves. All of these mechanisms lead to a decrease in energy density. Thus, the waves become lower in height. In addition, due to their dispersive characteristic the component wave periods tend to segregate in such a way that the longest waves lead the main body of waves and the shortest waves form the tail of the main body of waves. Finally, the swell may travel through areas where winds are present, adding new wind waves to old swell, and perhaps directly increasing or decreasing the size of the old swell.

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Section: Wave Characteristicssupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Wave Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Wind Waves and Swell

Wiegel

1960

Int. Conf. Coastal. Eng.

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“…Underlying assumptions are that the ordinates are Gaussian and the spectrum moderately narrow. A summary of observations relating to statistical properties of wave heights was recently made by Wiegel and Kukk (1957).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Wave Height and Frequency Meter

Snodgrass

Putz

1957

Int. Conf. Coastal. Eng.

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During World War II a group of Naval officers conducted visual measurements of ocean waves simultaneously with instrumental recordings. A comparison of the visual and instrumental values indicated ".... the natural tendency for the observer .... to record not the average wave height but a wave height based on some kind of average of the highest waves. The general experience is that an observer will give a value for the wave height which represents the average of the highest 20 to 40 per cent of the waves" (SIO, 1944). The average height of the highest one-third of the waves, H1/3, was therefore suggested as the characteristic (or significant) wave height. "Characteristic wave period" was given a corresponding definition as the average period of the highest one-third waves.

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History of Coastal Engineering in the USA

Wiegel

Saville

1996

History and Heritage of Coastal Engineering

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Wave measurements along the California coast

Cited by 5 publications

References 10 publications

Wind Waves and Swell

Wind Waves and Swell

A Wave Height and Frequency Meter

History of Coastal Engineering in the USA

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