AN HEURISTIC MODEL OF WAVE HEIGHT DISTRIBUTION IN SURF ZONE

Abstract

Until now, almost every study on coastal processes has considered the basic type of two-dimensional beach profile as being of constant slope. However, as our knowledge on this problem advances, we realize the importance of the influences of the bottom configuration on the hydrodynamic phenomena in a given area. Figure 1 shows a recent experimental result on the longshore current profile on a step type beach. ( Here the step type beaches are defined as those which have a step in the bottom profile, whether the beaches are of accretion type or not.)