Modelling shallow water wave generation and transformation in an intertidal estuary

An experiment is described in which wave growth was measured in Manukau Harbour, a New Zealand estuary with relatively large fetches and extensive intertidal flats. Wave spectra were obtained from pressure sensors and current meters placed at six sites across the estuary. The SWAN third-generation spectral model was then used to simulate wave transformation during a part of the study period during which consistent south-westerly winds blew along the instrument transect. The simulations incorporated refraction by currents using output from a circulation model of the estuary. Measured wave variance spectra were compared with the model results, and the contributions of the various processes represented by source terms within the model were compared. It was found that, along with whitecapping, bed friction and exponential growth from wind input, four-wave nonlinear interactions played a dominant role. Some limitations were noted in the discrete interaction approximation which the SWAN model uses to compute the four-wave nonlinear interaction term.