Dynamics of the Wave‐Driven Circulation in the Lee of Nearshore Reefs

Abstract

Submerged rocky and coral reefs influence the hydrodynamics and coastal processes of many wave-dominated coastlines worldwide. While coral reef systems are typically found at low latitudes, rocky reefs can be found worldwide along a variety of sandy and rocky coastlines (Pondella et al., 2015). For reefs with limited alongshore extent, the alongshore gradients in wave setup (the increase in mean water level due to wave dissipation) result in corresponding alongshore pressure gradients between the lee of the reef and adjacent shorelines not fronted by reefs (hereafter referred to as "exposed" shorelines). These alongshore pressure gradients can be a primary driver of mean alongshore currents in the lee of reefs and can thus influence alongshore sediment fluxes and shoreline changes. Shoreline erosion is typically thought to occur in the lee of reefs (or similar scaled artificial submerged

Nearshore Flow Dynamics Over Shore‐Oblique Bathymetric Features During Storm Wave Conditions

“…SWASH has been used to simulate wave‐driven currents over types of variable bathymetry, such as over submerged reefs (da Silva et al., 2023). Previous studies have also applied SWASH to model regions near the present study area (Gomes et al., 2016; Mulligan & Gomes et al., 2019; L. D. Szczyrba, Mulligan & Humberston et al., 2023) and similar numerical input parameters were applied in this study.…”