Mean Flow Circulation Equations for Shoaling and Breaking Waves

Abstract

Giving specific consideration to the Eulerian mean flow structure between the crest and the trough, the wave‐averaged and depth‐integrated conservation equations for mass and momentum are established. These equations are closely analogous to the long wave equations and include some features that have escaped detailed attention. Qualitative details of the vertical structure implicit in these equations are revealed from predictions from steady wave theory together with experimental observations through the surf zone.