Probability Distribution of Surface Elevation in Surf and Swash Zones

Abstract

Three irregular wave tests were conducted on a 1:16 smooth impermeable slope to investigate the detailed cross-shore variations of the probability distributions and statistics of the free surface elevations and middepth horizontal velocities in the shoaling, surf, and swash zones. The exponential gamma distribution with the measured mean, standard deviation, and skewness is shown to be capable of describing the measured probability distributions in a unified manner, although the agreement becomes worse in the lower swash zone. The probability distribution of the free surface elevation whose lower limit is imposed by the beach face in the swash zone becomes exponential with the skewness