Documentation of nearshore interactive wave - current - topography change models

Abstract

This report is to document the programs my colleague and I developed for computing time-dependent nearshore hydrographic changes including beach profile responses. The time scale of the model is suitable for storm events to seasonal changes, currently up to one year period. The model is very stable and is capable of handling complicated topographies including inlets and irregularly-shaped structures such as curved jetties and breakwaters. The purpose of three-dimensional models is to predict the change of bottom topography from the spatial distribution of the sediment transport rates, which are evaluated from the nearshore wave and current fields computed point by point in small areas defined by a horizontal grid placed over the region of interest. Models of 3-D beach topography change require much fewer idealizations than do the line models. (Document has 43 pages.)