Infragravity Wave Energy Partitioning in the Surf Zone in Response to Wind-Sea and Swell Forcing

An alongshore array of pressure sensors and a cross-shore array of current velocity and pressure sensors were deployed on a barred beach in southwestern Australia to estimate the relative response of edge waves and leaky waves to variable incident wind wave conditions. The strong sea breeze cycle at...

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Main Authors: Stephanie Contardo, Graham Symonds, Laura E. Segura, Ryan J. Lowe, Jeff E. Hansen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-10-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/7/11/383
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author Stephanie Contardo
Graham Symonds
Laura E. Segura
Ryan J. Lowe
Jeff E. Hansen
author_facet Stephanie Contardo
Graham Symonds
Laura E. Segura
Ryan J. Lowe
Jeff E. Hansen
author_sort Stephanie Contardo
collection DOAJ
description An alongshore array of pressure sensors and a cross-shore array of current velocity and pressure sensors were deployed on a barred beach in southwestern Australia to estimate the relative response of edge waves and leaky waves to variable incident wind wave conditions. The strong sea breeze cycle at the study site (wind speeds frequently &gt; 10 m s<sup>−1</sup>) produced diurnal variations in the peak frequency of the incident waves, with wind sea conditions (periods 2 to 8 s) dominating during the peak of the sea breeze and swell (periods 8 to 20 s) dominating during times of low wind. We observed that edge wave modes and their frequency distribution varied with the frequency of the short-wave forcing (swell or wind-sea) and edge waves were more energetic than leaky waves for the duration of the 10-day experiment. While the total infragravity energy in the surf zone was higher during swell forcing, edge waves were more energetic during wind-sea periods. However, low-frequency (0.005–0.023 Hz) edge waves were found to be dominant in absence of wind-sea conditions, while higher-frequency (0.023–0.050 Hz) edge waves dominated when wind-sea conditions were present.
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spelling doaj.art-4a26245c3f0943eeb9ff33dd085916372022-12-21T22:10:06ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122019-10-0171138310.3390/jmse7110383jmse7110383Infragravity Wave Energy Partitioning in the Surf Zone in Response to Wind-Sea and Swell ForcingStephanie Contardo0Graham Symonds1Laura E. Segura2Ryan J. Lowe3Jeff E. Hansen4CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Crawley 6009, AustraliaFaculty of Science, School of Earth Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, AustraliaDepartamento de Física, Universidad Nacional, Heredia 3000, Costa RicaFaculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Oceans Graduate School, The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, AustraliaFaculty of Science, School of Earth Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, AustraliaAn alongshore array of pressure sensors and a cross-shore array of current velocity and pressure sensors were deployed on a barred beach in southwestern Australia to estimate the relative response of edge waves and leaky waves to variable incident wind wave conditions. The strong sea breeze cycle at the study site (wind speeds frequently &gt; 10 m s<sup>−1</sup>) produced diurnal variations in the peak frequency of the incident waves, with wind sea conditions (periods 2 to 8 s) dominating during the peak of the sea breeze and swell (periods 8 to 20 s) dominating during times of low wind. We observed that edge wave modes and their frequency distribution varied with the frequency of the short-wave forcing (swell or wind-sea) and edge waves were more energetic than leaky waves for the duration of the 10-day experiment. While the total infragravity energy in the surf zone was higher during swell forcing, edge waves were more energetic during wind-sea periods. However, low-frequency (0.005–0.023 Hz) edge waves were found to be dominant in absence of wind-sea conditions, while higher-frequency (0.023–0.050 Hz) edge waves dominated when wind-sea conditions were present.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/7/11/383edge wavesinfragravity wavesbarred beachfield observations
spellingShingle Stephanie Contardo
Graham Symonds
Laura E. Segura
Ryan J. Lowe
Jeff E. Hansen
Infragravity Wave Energy Partitioning in the Surf Zone in Response to Wind-Sea and Swell Forcing
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
edge waves
infragravity waves
barred beach
field observations
title Infragravity Wave Energy Partitioning in the Surf Zone in Response to Wind-Sea and Swell Forcing
title_full Infragravity Wave Energy Partitioning in the Surf Zone in Response to Wind-Sea and Swell Forcing
title_fullStr Infragravity Wave Energy Partitioning in the Surf Zone in Response to Wind-Sea and Swell Forcing
title_full_unstemmed Infragravity Wave Energy Partitioning in the Surf Zone in Response to Wind-Sea and Swell Forcing
title_short Infragravity Wave Energy Partitioning in the Surf Zone in Response to Wind-Sea and Swell Forcing
title_sort infragravity wave energy partitioning in the surf zone in response to wind sea and swell forcing
topic edge waves
infragravity waves
barred beach
field observations
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/7/11/383
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AT grahamsymonds infragravitywaveenergypartitioninginthesurfzoneinresponsetowindseaandswellforcing
AT lauraesegura infragravitywaveenergypartitioninginthesurfzoneinresponsetowindseaandswellforcing
AT ryanjlowe infragravitywaveenergypartitioninginthesurfzoneinresponsetowindseaandswellforcing
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