This thesis contains a manuscript describing the implementation of a high resolution wave forecasting model for the coasts of Washington and Oregon. The purpose of this project was to advance the wave predictive capabilities of the states of Oregon and the southwest part of Washington by including the effects of...
Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) imagery can provide wavenumber and frequency data to generate bathymetry estimates for locations where limited access or extreme ocean conditions can make standard bathymetry survey techniques difficult or impossible. The availability of SAR data could allow for regular bathymetry estimates of navigational channels providing insight into dredging...
Wave runup is an important physical process that affects nearshore sediment transport, coastal erosion, and flooding. Large and unexpected runup events can also be dangerous to beach goers. Extreme runup statistics are essential parameters used in engineering design of marine structures and in coastal management. Although the study of runup...
This thesis presents two conceptually linked papers outlining methodologies to improve community resilience. Both papers employ Seaside, Oregon as a testbed community and consider the seismic-tsunami hazard posed by the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The first paper presents a framework to deaggregate the results of a multi-hazard, multi-infrastructure, damage analysis by...
The understanding and prediction how coastal wetland vegetation attenuates wave action has received renewed attention with global climate change impacts and increasing populations on coastlines. Conventional attenuation models utilize empirical drag coefficients, but these coefficients exhibit a wide range of values, and there is some uncertainty in the relative importance...
Radiation stresses, defined as the excess flow of momentum due to the presence of waves (Longuet-Higgins, 1964), are the main drivers behind the cross-shore and longshore forcing that results in wave setup, set-down, and longshore currents (e.g. Svendsen, 2006). Longshore currents entrain and transport sediment and therefore play an important...
Estuaries represent the confluence of land and ocean environments and encompass a number of complex interactions amongst tides, winds, offshore waves and the riverine contributions, all of which contribute to total water levels (TWLs). The study of TWLs and the relative weight of its components can assist local communities in...
Coastal vegetation dampens waves which can provide benefits to the local area, but existing literature shows large variations in the degree of wave height attenuation depending on plant properties and wave conditions. Better knowledge of how to predict the wave height decay accurately in different types of vegetation may help...
The hazards associated with tsunamis are well known and have been studied for decades. The majority of research is, however, focused on open coastlines which bear the brunt of a tsunamis force. Other regions that can be strongly impacted by a tsunami are large estuaries. Here, the tsunami encounters a...
As the second largest river in the U.S., the entrance to the Columbia River is home to some of the most extreme wave conditions on the Pacific Coast. Winter storms commonly generate waves 6-8 m in height, which in combination with strong tidal currents, can produce dangerous navigation conditions. To...