The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Wave attenuation by submerged vegetation: combining the effect of organism traits and tidal current

Wave attenuation by submerged vegetation: combining the effect of organism traits and tidal current
Wave attenuation by submerged vegetation: combining the effect of organism traits and tidal current
Accurate wave height prediction along the shore plays an important role in coastal protection and management. To account for the effect of submerged vegetation in wave-­attenuation models, it is important to understand how the interaction between vegetation characteristics and hydrodynamic forcing affects wave attenuation. To determine the effect of vegetation characteristics, we used seagrass mimics that varied in (1) blade stiffness, (2) shoot density and (3) leaf length; to investigate the effect of hydrodynamic forcing, we studied wave attenuation in the absence and presence of a tidal current. Results show that wave attenuation is positively correlated with blade stiffness and for a given wave in shallow water, attenuation is dependent on a combination of shoot density and leaf length, which can be described by the leaf area index. The presence of a tidal current strongly reduced the wave-attenuating capacity of seagrass mimics, and this reduction was most pronounced at high shoot densities. Thus, most studies that have been carried out under waves only will structurally overestimate wave attenuation for tidal environments, emphasising that tidal currents need to be taken into account in future studies on wave attenuation by vegetation.
Waves, Currents, Artificial seagrass, Vegetation traits, Wave attenuation
31-41
Paul, M.
9582872c-f937-4844-ac6c-93485269af4b
Bouma, T.J.
06c969a7-3ad7-4846-92d1-063341aef270
Amos, C.L.
d0a18a13-bccd-4fdc-8901-aea595d4ed5c
Paul, M.
9582872c-f937-4844-ac6c-93485269af4b
Bouma, T.J.
06c969a7-3ad7-4846-92d1-063341aef270
Amos, C.L.
d0a18a13-bccd-4fdc-8901-aea595d4ed5c

Paul, M., Bouma, T.J. and Amos, C.L. (2012) Wave attenuation by submerged vegetation: combining the effect of organism traits and tidal current. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 444, 31-41. (doi:10.3354/meps09489).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Accurate wave height prediction along the shore plays an important role in coastal protection and management. To account for the effect of submerged vegetation in wave-­attenuation models, it is important to understand how the interaction between vegetation characteristics and hydrodynamic forcing affects wave attenuation. To determine the effect of vegetation characteristics, we used seagrass mimics that varied in (1) blade stiffness, (2) shoot density and (3) leaf length; to investigate the effect of hydrodynamic forcing, we studied wave attenuation in the absence and presence of a tidal current. Results show that wave attenuation is positively correlated with blade stiffness and for a given wave in shallow water, attenuation is dependent on a combination of shoot density and leaf length, which can be described by the leaf area index. The presence of a tidal current strongly reduced the wave-attenuating capacity of seagrass mimics, and this reduction was most pronounced at high shoot densities. Thus, most studies that have been carried out under waves only will structurally overestimate wave attenuation for tidal environments, emphasising that tidal currents need to be taken into account in future studies on wave attenuation by vegetation.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2012
Keywords: Waves, Currents, Artificial seagrass, Vegetation traits, Wave attenuation
Organisations: Coastal & Shelf Research

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 209903
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/209903
PURE UUID: 941205ea-9f13-4734-95ff-b4679f0b4efd

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 02 Feb 2012 13:57
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 04:47

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: M. Paul
Author: T.J. Bouma
Author: C.L. Amos

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×