An internal wave generation method for the non-hydrostatic model swash

Numerical wave propagation models are commonly used as engineering tools for the study of wave transformation in coastal areas. In order to simulate waves in the nearshore zone correctly, the generation and absorption of waves at the boundaries of the models need to be modelled accurately. In numerical models, incident waves are usually generated by prescribing their horizontal velocity component at the boundary of the computational domain over the vertical direction. Additionally, in order to absorb and to prevent re-reflections in front of the numerical wave generator, a weakly reflective wave generation boundary condition is applied in which the total velocity signal is a superposition of the incident velocity signal and a velocity signal of the reflected waves. However, this method is based on the assumption that the reflected waves are small amplitude shallow water waves propagating perpendicular to the boundary of the computational domain and hence this method is weakly reflective for directional and dispersive waves. Within the present study, an internal wave generation method combined with sponge layers is applied in the non-hydrostatic model SWASH, in order to more accurately generate waves and avoid re-reflections at the boundaries

Ocean model resolution dependence of Caribbean sea-level projections

Abstract Sea-level rise poses severe threats to coastal and low-lying regions around the world, by exacerbating coastal erosion and flooding. Adequate sea-level projections over the next decades are important for both decision making and for the development of successful adaptation strategies in these coastal and low-lying regions to climate change. Ocean components of climate models used in the most recent sea-level projections do not explicitly resolve ocean mesoscale processes. Only a few effects of these mesoscale processes are represented in these models, which leads to errors in the simulated properties of the ocean circulation that affect sea-level projections. Using the Caribbean Sea as an example region, we demonstrate a strong dependence of future sea-level change on ocean model resolution in simulations with a global climate model. The results indicate that, at least for the Caribbean Sea, adequate regional projections of sea-level change can only be obtained with ocean models which capture mesoscale processes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

The impact of modulational instability on coastal wave forecasting using quadratic models

Coastal wave forecasting over large spatial scales is essential for many applications (e.g., coastal safety assessments, coastal management and developments, etc.). This demand explains the necessity for accurate yet effective models. A well-known efficient modelling approach is the quadratic approach (often referred to as frequency-domain models, nonlinear mild-slope models, amplitude models, etc.). The efficiency of this approach stems from a significant modelling reduction of the original governing equations (e.g., Euler equations). Most significantly, the description of wave nonlinearity essentially collapses into a single mode coupling term determined by the quadratic interaction coefficients. As a result, it is expected that the efficiency achieved by the quadratic approach is accompanied by a decrease in prediction accuracy. In order to gain further insight into the predictive capabilities of this modelling approach, this study examines six different quadratic formulations, three of which are of the Boussinesq type and the other three are referred to as fully dispersive. It is found that while the Boussinesq formulations reliably predict the evolution of coastal waves, the predictions by the fully dispersive formulations tend to be affected by false developments of modulational instability. Consequently, the predicted wave fields by the fully dispersive formulations are characterized by unexpectedly strong modulations of the sea-swell part and associated unexpected infragravity response. The impact of the modulational instability on wave prediction based on the quadratic approach is further demonstrated using existing laboratory results of bichromatic and irregular wave conditions.Environmental Fluid Mechanic