This review volume, the third in the series, presents the latest topics for discussion, which provides invaluable information to coastal and ocean engineers around the world. In the first paper of this volume, entitled “Internal Solitary Waves”, Grimshaw reviews the basic theory of weakly nonlinear waves in an incompressible density-stratified fluid. The internal solitary waves solutions and effects such as friction, refraction and finite amplitude on internal solitary waves are also discussed. In the second paper entitled “The 3/2-Power Law for Ocean Wind Waves and Its Applications”, Toba gives a thorough review on the field evidence and physical background of the 3/2-power law and the associated wind-wave energy spectra. Several wind-wave prediction models are also discussed. Goda, in his paper entitled “Directional Wave Spectrum and Its Engineering Applications”, gives a brief historical overview of the development of directional wave spectrum. He presents several standard formulas for directional spreading function for engineering applications and discusses the effects of directional spreading on nearshore currents and wave forces on coastal structures. In a companion paper entitled “Analysis of the Directional Wave Spectrum from Field Data”, Hashimoto describes the maximum entropy principle method, Bayesian directional spectrum estimation method and the extended maximum entropy method for estimating directional wave spectrum. Hashimoto also introduces a new developed Doppler-type directional wave meter for field measurements. Finally, in “Reliability-Based Design of Coastal Structures”, Barcharth introduces a design procedure that makes it possible to optimize a design and/or to design to a specific failure probability level.

This volume contains six papers discussing coastal processes, and physical and numerical modeling.In the first paper, Svendsen and Putrevu give an extensive review on the state of understanding of surf-zone hydrodynamics, including subjects such as wave breaking, wave-induced currents, and instability of nearshore currents and infragravity waves. They point out that the most urgent need is to develop an adequate theory for wave breaking and broken waves in the surf zone.One of the methods for studying the complex coastal processes is to perform laboratory experiments. However, physical models are always plagued by scale and laboratory effects, because the coastal process involves many different length and time scales. In the second paper, Kamphuis presents a detailed discussion on the sources and implications of the scale and laboratory effects on physical modeling.The third and the fourth papers are two parts of the discussion on the mathematical modeling of the meso-tidal barrier island coasts. To understand the dynamics of coastal inlet systems, one can either rely on empirical knowledge and construct various forms of empirical and semi-empirical models (Part I), or develop a set of mathematical models based on the physical processes (Part II). Although these models do not provide the details of the dynamics, they give valuable knowledge of the equilibrium-state relationships. de Vriend and Ribberink give a detailed review on two models, Initial Sedimentation/Erosion models and Medium-Term Morphodynamic models. They have also presented many examples of applications.In the fifth paper, Houston gives a brief review on different methods to mitigate beach loss caused by storms or persistent long-term erosion. He then describes, in detail, the method of beach nourishment, which is also called a beach fill. This paper discusses the information that must be collected to design a beach fill and that should be monitored after the completion of the project.The last paper of this volume shifts our attention to the design of offshore structures, such as gravity structures, floating barges and tankers. Chakrabarti discusses the effects of the uniform and shear currents on fixed and floating structures.

Most of the Earth's surface is covered by water. Many aspects of our everyday lives and activities may be affected by water waves in some way. Sometimes, the waves can cause disaster. One of the examples was the tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004. This indicates how important it is for us to fully understand water waves, in particular the very large ones. One way to do so is to perform numerical simulation based on the nonlinear theory. Considerable research advances have been made in this area over the past decade by developing various numerical methods and applying them to emerging problems: however, until now there has been no comprehensive book to reflect these advances. This unique volume aims to bridge this gap.

Accompanying CD-ROM in pocket at the back of book

This book treats the subject of sediment transport in the marine environment, covering transport of non-cohesive sediment by waves and current in- and outside the surf zone. It can be read independently, but a background in hydraulics and basic wave mechanics is required. It is intended for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. The primary aim of the book is to describe the physical processes of sediment transport and how to represent them in mathematical models. It does not present a large number of different formulae for the sediment transport rates under various conditions. The book can be divided in two main parts; in the first, the relevant hydrodynamic theory is described; in the second, sediment transport and morphological development are treated. The hydrodynamic part contains a review of elementary theory for water waves, chapters on the turbulent wave boundary layer and the turbulent interaction between waves and currents, and finally, surf zone hydrodynamics and wave driven currents. The part on sediment transport introduces the basic concepts (critical bed shear stress, bed load, suspended load and sheet layer, near-bed concentration, effect of sloping bed); it treats suspended sediment in waves and current and in the surf zone, and current and wave-generated bed forms. Finally, the modelling of cross-shore and long-shore sediment transport is described together with the development, of coastal profiles and coastlines.

This volume consists of five excellent review papers. In the first paper, “A Review of Coastal Wave Modeling: The Physical and Mathematical Problems”, N E Huang presents a summary of the state-of-the-art of wave modeling in deep waters. He points out several shortcomings in existing modeling approaches and expresses the urgent need for developing a statistical theory of surface waves in shallow waters. Huang believes that the statistical theory can be formulated as the soliton turbulence. He also points out other important issues in wave modeling, including the air-sea interaction processes, and the physics of the wave-current and dissipation processes. In the second paper A C Radder focuses his discussion on the “Hamiltonian Dynamics of Water Waves”. He demonstrates that the Hamiltonian theory of surface waves can be formulated in terms of surface elevation and the velocity potential at the free surface as canonical variables. Several evolution equations, can be readily obtained. Radder also points out the need to develop a stochastic wave model in the shallow-water environment.The maximum runup is arguably the single most important parameter in the design of coastal structures and for the evaluation of the inundation potential of storm surges and tsunamis. C E Synolakis presents a thorough review of the “Exact Solutions of Shallow-Water Wave Equations”. For a single sloping beach, the evolution and runup of solitary, dipole, N and cnoidal waves are discussed. These solutions are then extended to more practical problems.The last two papers concern the flow and sediment motions near the seafloor. In their paper, “Boundary Layer and Sediment Dynamics Under Sea Waves”, P Blondeaux and G Vittori give an expert review of the recent contributions on the understanding of the interaction of the coherent vortex with cohesionless or partially cohesive sediments in a boundary layer. The formation and development of small-scale bedforms in the coastal regions are also discussed. Finally, in “Wave Scour Around Structures”, B M Sumer and J Fredsøe review the scouring processes around various types of structures. Many recent experimental data and theoretical developments are presented.

This book focuses on: (1) the physics of the fundamental dynamics of fluids and of semi-immersed Lagrangian solid bodies that are responding to wave-induced loads; (2) the scaling of dimensional equations and boundary value problems in order to determine a small dimensionless parameter ε that may be applied to linearize the equations and the boundary value problems so as to obtain a linear system; (3) the replacement of differential and integral calculus with algebraic equations that require only algebraic substitutions instead of differentiations and integrations; and (4) the importance of comparing numerical and analytical computations with data from laboratories and/or nature.