Wave Propagation in Jettied Entrance Channels. I: Models

Abstract

A model for the propagation of sea and swell waves in a channel bounded by rubble‐mound jetties is presented. The model combines elements of earlier work on waves normally incident on a breakwater with a modified diffraction model based on the linear mild‐slope equation. For grazing‐angle (relative to the jetty axis) wave incidence, a parabolic approximation to the governing equation is used to obtain numerical solutions for monochromatic long waves propagating down the channel. An initially plane wave evolves into a spatially complex pattern as dissipation occurs along the jetties and energy is drawn from the channel interior by diffraction. Comparisons of the model to field observations are presented in a companion paper.