The subaerial beach, composed of sand dunes and the foreshore, provides a natural buffer zone between vulnerable land and the dissipation of storm wave energy due to wave breaking. The natural beauty of this region is attractive to people, and as a result, significant investment has been placed in this...
The longshore variability of the coastal response to hurricanes may be examined within the framework of a storm-impact scaling model that compares spatially-variable beach morphology and fluid forcing. The relative elevations of dune height and storm-induced water levels are used to define three impact regimes (swash, collision, and overwash), within...
Wave-induced circulation is the defining characteristic of the nearshore. Within this region, the constant feedback cycle between incoming waves, wave-generated currents, and the mobile sediment bed is responsible for the evolution of complex patterns in nearshore and beach morphology. Central to our understanding of this system is knowledge of the...
Coastal flooding and erosion are major concerns for low lying coastal communities -- particularly in light of accelerated sea level rise and climate change. To improve quantitative understanding of the physical drivers of both flooding and coastal landscape change, this dissertation explores coastal morphodynamics bridging the land-sea interface on modally...
Hazards threaten coastal communities and ecosystems over a wide range of spatiotemporal scales. One of the most pressing concerns for coastal property owners, decision makers, and researchers is the uncertain role that a changing climate will have on the intensity and frequency of these hazards. The significant uncertainties associated with...
Oregon State University conducted a series of laboratory experiments to measure and quantify the near-field wave effects caused within arrays of Wave Energy Converters (WEC). As the waves and WECs interact, the WECs generate radiated waves; these effects vary with the location within the array. Analyzing the near-field waves will...
Understanding the past, present, and future behavior of our nation's shorelines is vital for sensible coastal management. Localized areas of erosion, termed "erosional hot spots", can shift the shoreline landward threatening coastal infrastructure (Kraus and Galgano, 2001; Stauble and Gravens, 2004; McNinch, 2004). One specific type of erosional hot spot...
In this dissertation the interactions between hydrodynamics, sediment suspension and transport, and morphological evolution in the surf zone was investigated with a large-scale laboratory experiment data, CROss-Shore Sediment Transport Experiment (CROSSTEX). The data set included comprehensive measurements of water surface elevation, fluid velocity, sediment concentration, and morphology for irregular waves...
This thesis presents the details of a large-scale laboratory experiment to study the
turbulence generated by waves breaking on a fixed barred beach. The data set includes
comprehensive measurements of free surface displacement and fluid velocity for one
random and one regular wave case.
Observations of the time-averaged turbulent kinetic...