TY - JOUR
T1 - Dissipation of wave energy by a hybrid artificial reef in a wave simulator
T2 - implications for coastal resilience and shoreline protection
AU - Ghiasian, Mohammad
AU - Carrick, Jane
AU - Rhode-Barbarigos, Landolf
AU - Haus, Brian
AU - Baker, Andrew C.
AU - Lirman, Diego
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank S. Chao, J. Ramaprasad, M. Beck, B. Reguero, M. Rebozo, and J. Amendolara for their contributions to this project. This project was funded by the University of Miami's U‐LINK Program, the City of Miami Beach, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government or the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and its funding sources. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government or the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or its funding sources.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Coastal cities are susceptible to the impacts of waves, flooding, storm surge, and sea-level rise. In response to these threats, coastal jurisdictions have invested in engineered shoreline defenses such as breakwaters and sea walls that are costly to implement and maintain. Thus, there is an increasing recognition that nature-based defenses provided by healthy ecosystems like coral reefs can be an effective and cost-efficient alternative to mitigate the impacts of climatic hazards while simultaneously restoring ecosystem services. Unfortunately, coral reefs have experienced degradation worldwide, lowering their potential for wave-energy dissipation. As coastal vulnerability increases with the loss of natural barriers, it is imperative to design and test novel resilience solutions. Our study quantifies the benefits of hybrid artificial reefs for wave mitigation in a wave-tank simulator using periodic waves of three heights (0.10, 0.16, and 0.24 m) at two water levels (0.55 and 0.65 m) defined considering the Froude similarity with a prototype reef structure in South Florida. Experiments showed that an artificial trapezoidal reef model reduces wave height (> 35%) and wave energy (up to 63%) under realistic wave conditions. Moreover, adding coral skeletons of Acropora cervicornis to simulate reef restoration onto the model mitigates up to an additional 10% of wave height and 14% of wave energy through increased friction, supporting the use of hybrid approaches that integrate both gray and green infrastructure to enhance coastal resilience. Exploring wave-tank simulations provides a better understanding of wave effects before implementing larger and more costly projects in the field.
AB - Coastal cities are susceptible to the impacts of waves, flooding, storm surge, and sea-level rise. In response to these threats, coastal jurisdictions have invested in engineered shoreline defenses such as breakwaters and sea walls that are costly to implement and maintain. Thus, there is an increasing recognition that nature-based defenses provided by healthy ecosystems like coral reefs can be an effective and cost-efficient alternative to mitigate the impacts of climatic hazards while simultaneously restoring ecosystem services. Unfortunately, coral reefs have experienced degradation worldwide, lowering their potential for wave-energy dissipation. As coastal vulnerability increases with the loss of natural barriers, it is imperative to design and test novel resilience solutions. Our study quantifies the benefits of hybrid artificial reefs for wave mitigation in a wave-tank simulator using periodic waves of three heights (0.10, 0.16, and 0.24 m) at two water levels (0.55 and 0.65 m) defined considering the Froude similarity with a prototype reef structure in South Florida. Experiments showed that an artificial trapezoidal reef model reduces wave height (> 35%) and wave energy (up to 63%) under realistic wave conditions. Moreover, adding coral skeletons of Acropora cervicornis to simulate reef restoration onto the model mitigates up to an additional 10% of wave height and 14% of wave energy through increased friction, supporting the use of hybrid approaches that integrate both gray and green infrastructure to enhance coastal resilience. Exploring wave-tank simulations provides a better understanding of wave effects before implementing larger and more costly projects in the field.
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U2 - 10.1002/lom3.10400
DO - 10.1002/lom3.10400
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85092926098
JO - Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
JF - Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
SN - 1541-5856
ER -