Non-hydrostatic wave modelling of coral reefs with the addition of a porous in-canopy model

One sixth of the world's coastline consist of coral reefs and provide natural flood defence for the people who live in the coastal region behind the reef. However, a rising sea level, changing wave conditions and degradation of corals threaten the coastal safety of these reefs.Numerical models can be applied to study the reef-hydrodynamics and...

A Bayesian-Based System to Assess Wave-Driven Flooding Hazards on Coral Reef-Lined Coasts

Many low-elevation, coral reef-lined, tropical coasts are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea level rise, and wave-induced flooding. The considerable morphological diversity of these coasts and the variability of the hydrodynamic forcing that they are exposed to make predicting wave-induced flooding a challenge. A process-based...

Three-dimensional Flow Over Spur-and-Groove Morphology

Spurs-and-grooves (SAG) are a common and impressive characteristic of shallow fore reef areas worldwide. Although the existence and geometrical properties of SAG are well-documented ever since the 50’s, the literature concerning specifically the hydrodynamics around them is sparse. This study provides a characterization of the 3D flow patterns...

The Gulf of Carpentaria heated Torres Strait and the Northern Great Barrier Reef during the 2016 mass coral bleaching event

The 2015/16 ENSO event increased the temperature of waters surrounding northeast Australia to above 30 °C, with large patches of water reaching 32 °C, for over two months, which led to severe bleaching of corals of the Northern Great Barrier Reef (NGBR). This study provides evidence gained from remote-sensing data, oceanographic data and...

Predicting Wave-Induced Flooding on Low-Lying Tropical Islands Using a Bayesian Network

Low-lying tropical islands are highly vulnerable to the effects of sea-level rise and climate change. Most pressing is the threat posed to their fresh water supplies by wave-induced flooding. This thesis attempts to generalize previous site-specific studies of flooding on coral atolls and apply it in a framework that can be used for early...

Incident, infragravity and very low frequency wave motions on an atoll reef platform

Coral reefs are hard structures that front many coasts in tropical and subtropical climates and protect them against wave attack and erosion. Despite reducing incoming wave energy by up to 98%, coral reefs are not a guarantee that mainland or island coasts are safe from being flooded. This was demonstrated by a series of wave-driven flooding...

Wave runup on atoll reefs

The aim of this research was to take the first step in understanding the wave runup process on an atoll reef using the XBeach model. Field data collected from 3 November 2013 to 13 April 2014 at Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands was used. The dataset included data on bathymetry, waves, water levels and wave-induced runup....

The influence of hydrodynamic forcing on sediment transport pathways and shoreline evolution in a coral reef environment

Low frequency wave resonance in fringing reef environments

Low frequency wave resonance has been postulated to enhance damage to coral reef protected coastlines during storm events. This paper uses the numerical model XBeach to examine the dynamics that contribute to resonance that have been previously observed on a fringing reef on Guam during tropical storm Man-Yi (Péquignet et al., 2009). The methods...

The dynamics of infragravity wave transformation over a fringing reef

A 3 week field study was conducted to investigate the dynamics of low-frequency (infragravity) wave motions over a fringing reef at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Short-period wave motions (0.04–0.2 Hz) were observed to dissipate on the reef crest beyond which infragravity wave motions (0.004–0.04 Hz) gradually dominated toward the lagoon....

Sediment Dynamics of Beach Cells under Oblique Swell Waves: A Case Study of Beach Cell Response and Interaction on Barbados' West Coast

Property development along the west coast of Barbados has led to an increasing pressure on the coastline as property owners desire to have their residences close to the sea. The addition of new coastal structures including revetments, breakwaters, and groynes, changes the dynamics of the natural littoral system. The sediment transport mechanism...

Low frequency wave resonance on fringing reefs

Reef systems have been estimated to exist along approximately 80% of the world’s coastlines with living coral reefs, relic limestone platforms and submerged rock formations being the most common types observed. The processes of wave breaking on a reef crest, setup on a reef and flow over and within a lagoon, have been the primary focus of...

Hydrodynamics of Lagoon Fringed by a Coral Reef

Coral reefs are highly diverse ecosystems that provide food, income, and coastal protection for hundreds of millions of coastal dwellers. They are found in tropical and semi tropical areas spread throughout South-east Asia, the Caribbean, the Indonesian archipelago, on Australian coasts and in the Pacific islands. Coral reefs are subject to both...

THE GROWTH RATE OF STONY CORALS OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA: EFFECTS FROM PAST BEACH RENOURISHMENT PROJECTS

The skeletal growth of hermatypic (reef-building) corals is a sensitive indicator of environmental conditions and perturbations. In particular, excessive sedimentation and turbidity act to depress coral growth because energy expenditure is required to remove sediment and because turbidity reduces light energy necessary for coral health and...