Pa. Work et Jm. Kaihatu, WAVE TRANSFORMATION AT PENSACOLA PASS, FLORIDA, Journal of waterway, port, coastal, and ocean engineering, 123(6), 1997, pp. 314-321
Time series of wave, mean current, tidal stage, and wind data collecte
d at Perdido Key, Fla. are analyzed to assess the influence of a large
, dredged, microtidal inlet with sizeable shoals on the surrounding wa
ve conditions. The relative importance of different wave transformatio
n processes is addressed, with the aim of providing practical guidelin
es for modeling wave transformation numerically. A monochromatic wave
transformation model that includes wave shoaling, diffraction, breakin
g, and refraction due to both bathymetric gradients and horizontal gra
dients in tidal currents is tested against the field data. A two-dimen
sional (2D) (vertically averaged) hydrodynamic model is used to specif
y the mean flow, which serves as one input to the wave model. The wave
model yields wave heights that, on average, compare well with measure
ments (within 1%, on average), but produces high spatial variation in
wave direction, where waves propagate along a contour. Neglect of wind
in the model is suggested to be one reason for the scatter evident in
comparisons between measured and modeled wave conditions. Wave condit
ions west of Caucus Shoal, on the west side of Pensacola Pass, are gov
erned primarily by wind and bathymetric control. Tidal currents exert
little influence on waves outside of the shoals that flank the inlet.