Probability density functions of breaking waves.
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Authors
Schaeffer, George H.
Subjects
Advisors
Thornton, E.B.
Date of Issue
1978-06
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
Waves in the surf zone are a highly nonlinear process
which is evident by the appearance of secondary waves. The
secondary waves appear as strong peaks in the period PDFs
corresponding to the first harmonic of the peak of the wave
spectrum. The strong first harmonic period peak is also
reflected in the highly correlated height and velocity PDFs.
Ereaking waves may be viewed as a gradation between two
extremes. The period, height and velocity PDFs for spilling
breakers generally were unimodal, whereas for plunging
breakers strong bimodality was found. The joint probability density functions for periods and
heights of the breaking waves show high correlation (0.60-
0.80) which says that greater wave periods are associated
with larger breaker heights. The joint PDFs of period and
particle velocity, and velocity and height, suggest that the
maximum onshore particle velocities are correlated with both
the wave periods and wave heights. Due to the high probability of the secondary waves, the
mean wave period for breakers is a poor descriptor of the
average period of the offshore incident waves.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Oceanography
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.