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Title:A NOTE ON SETUP SENSITIVITY AND PREDICTION ACCURACY
DOI No:10.1142/9789812709554_0081
Source:COASTAL ENGINEERING 2006 (pp 946-958)
Author(s):Alex Apotsos
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02540, USA

Britt Raubenheimer
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02540, USA

Steve Elgar
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02540, USA

R. T. Guza
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Jerry Smith
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Abstract:The sensitivity of numerical model predictions of the cross-shore profile of wave-driven setup, the increase in the mean sea level associated with breaking waves, to the accuracy of the observational inputs and to different physical processes is explored using data from three field experiments. Using different parametric wave models to estimate the cross-shore distribution of wave heights and energy used to drive the setup model can result in up to 90% changes in the predicted setup. Approximating the surfzone beach profile used in the models as planar results in increased setup on concave beaches and reduced setup on convex beaches. Using a planar beach profile and a constant mean water level rather than the measured bathymetry and tidal fluctuations increases the mean and root-mean square errors between the predictions and observations by up to a factor of 5. Including bottom stress and wave rollers significantly improves setup predictions in water depths less than 1 m.
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