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Scattering of Poincaré waves by an irregular coastline

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2006

M. S. Howe  and
L. A. Mysak
M. S. Howe
Affiliation:
Engineering Department, University of Cambridge
L. A. Mysak
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Institute of Oceanography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
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Abstract

This paper discusses the theory of the reflexion and scattering by an irregular coastline of a Poincaré-type wave on a rotating ocean. It is assumed that the coast is straight except for small deviations from the rectilinear form, and that these deviations may be regarded as a random function of position along the coast. The rigorous theory of energy-transfer processes in random media is applied to determine the power flux from the incident Poincard wave into the scattered Kelvin wave, which propagates in a unique direction along the coast, and into Poincard ocean wave noise. The relative efficiencies of generation of these waves is examined in some detail, and studied in particular for varying ranges of values of certain non-dimensional parameters characterizing the coastal configuration. Detailed estimates are given for a shoreline whose irregularities are specified by a Gaussian spectrum of Fourier components, and the results extra-polated in the concluding section of the paper to give a general qualitative discussion of the effects of an arbitrary coastline on an incident wave.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 57 , Issue 1 , 23 January 1973 , pp. 111 - 128
Copyright
© 1973 Cambridge University Press

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