Experimental study on regular wave propagation characteristics over coral reef topography with composite slopes

A series of experimental tests to study the effect of the height and period of ocean wave on composite coral reef topography was performed. Our study found that the breaker height and breaker distance to a certain reference location increases as either the height or the period of the deep water wave increases, and were relatively less affected by reef flat water level. Wave set-up over reef flat was found to decrease with the rise of water level while transmission wave height over reef flat was found to increase; both of them were greatly affected by the reef flat water level. The dimensionless analyses have shown that the ratio of breaker height to deep water wave height was found to be associated with deep water wave steepness and the ratio of transmission wave height to deep water wave height with the ratio of reef flat still water depth to deep water wave height. In addition, for the dimensionless breaker position (the ratio of horizontal distance between the breaker point and the reef edge to the reef-edge shallow-water wave length) and the dimensionless reef flat wave set-up (the ratio of wave set-up to deep water wave height), a parametric formulae can be established through the ratio of reef-edge water depth to deep water wave height. © 2021, Editorial Board of Advances in Water Science. All right reserved.