Review of Long Wave Dynamics over Reefs and into Ports with Implication for Port Operations

• Published in: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
• Main Authors: Ap Van Dongeren, Martijn De Jong, Cock Van der Lem, Alex Van Deyzen, Joost Den Bieman
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2016
• Subjects: long waves; infragravity waves; ports; wave penetration; wave modeling; XBeach; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse4010012

This paper reviews the dynamics of infragravity (long-period) waves over reef systems and the consequences of these waves for operations in ports located behind reefs with particular attention to Western Australia. Swells which originate in the Southern Ocean generate long (infragravity) waves, which propagate to the coast. On the reef edge, the swell waves are largely dissipated, transferring energy to turbulence and heat but also in that process generating long wave energy. The remaining swell waves are dominated by the infragravity waves and propagate towards the mainland and into port basins where they cause moored ship motions with consequences for the operational downtime of the port’s operations. When contemplating solutions to mitigate the impact of the long wave problems, these may be addressed from two sides: from the load side (waves) and the strength side (mooring). The former will be discussed in this paper.