LONGSHORE TRANSMISSION OF REFLECTED WAVES

A method is presented for determining the longshore travel distance of wave energy reflected from a coastal structure. These reflected waves may become trapped by refraction, causing reflected wave energy to im pact the coastline some distance from the structure. The reflected wav es may have a localized effect on coastal processes by adding wave ene rgy to the incident waves along a reach of the coastline, and cause lo calized erosion as the shoreline adjusts its orientation to reach equi librium with the reflected waves. The method incorporates consideratio n of the wave period, and gives results for directional spreading due to wave frequency. A plane bottom slope is assumed. The theoretical de velopment is described and an example is given to illustrate the metho d. The method presented provides a quick, first-order solution that is an improvement on earlier methodology.