Modeling the Effect of Shelter in the Modification of Waves From the Open Sea to Near-Shore

Abstract

An efficient method has been developed to compute the wave conditions in sheltered areas from the open sea directional spectrum using a reverse tracing wave ray model with weighted spectral filtering. The results were verified for Porto Cachorro—Azores, surrounded by several islands with an intricate geometry, and for Sines, at the west coast of Portugal. The range of applicability of this type of ray model seems to lie at the transition between the open sea, well represented through large-scale wind-wave models, and the zones close to shore where shallow water wave breaking (not represented in the model) begins to play a dominant and decisive role.