- Title
- Wave height distributions in the surf zone on natural beaches
- Creator
- Power, Hannah E.; Nielsen, Peter; Hughes, Michael G.; Aagaard, Troels; Baldock, Tom E.
- Relation
- 14th International Coastal Symposium (ICS2016). Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium [presented in Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 75] (Sydney 6-11 March, 2016) p. 917-921
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.2112/SI75-184.1
- Publisher
- Coastal Education & Research Foundation
- Resource Type
- conference paper
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Wave height distributions in the surf zone are examined using a large existing field dataset. Observed distributions are compared to the Rayleigh distribution, the Weibull distribution, and the normal distribution. In more than half the 15-minute data runs (57%), wave height distributions were statistically significantly different to a Rayleigh distribution, of which the majority were more narrowly distributed, with fewer extrema. In contrast, only 6% of distributions were statistically significantly different to a normal distribution. The distributions were observed to become narrower with decreasing depth. Data were subsequently fitted to a Weibull distribution with a varying exponent to allow for a change in the shape of the distribution with changing depth. The data show distributions with a wide range of exponents, but a mean of 2.4 indicating that, on average, data are more narrowly distributed than a Rayleigh distribution (exponent of 2). The value of the exponent was observed to increase in shallower water, with a strong inverse correlation between depth and the exponent.
- Subject
- surf zone; wave breaking; wave height distribution; field data; Rayleigh distribution; Weibull distribution
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1323470
- Identifier
- uon:24817
- Identifier
- ISSN:0749-0208
- Language
- eng
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