Accession Number:

ADA008011

Title:

The Use of Aerial Photography in the Study of Wave Characteristics in the Coastal Zone

Descriptive Note:

Technical memo.

Corporate Author:

COASTAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER VICKSBURG MS

Personal Author(s):

• McClenan, Cecil M.
• Harris, D. L.

Report Date:

1975-01-01

Pagination or Media Count:

73.0

Abstract:

Good aerial photos of waves shows that multiple wave trains are common in the coastal zone. The relative importance of the various wave trains is changed by refraction and shoaling. The breakers, most prominent in the shore zone, often result from long, low swell, which is hardly discernable against the background of shorter waves a few hundred meters from shore. The generation of solitions and the regeneration of breakers which have crossed bars may lead to a breaker which is shorter than the period of the swell responsible for the breakers. Cylindrical waves radiating outward from rocks or shoals which penetrate the surface are formed from long-crested waves coming from the open sea. A wave pattern which appears random and chaotic when viewed on photos taken at a low elevation may appear to be highly organized when viewed at an elevation over 5,000 feet.

Descriptors:

• *COASTAL REGIONS
• *OCEAN WAVES
• *AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
• SCATTERING
• REFLECTION
• DIFFRACTION
• REFRACTION
• AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS
• CORRELATION TECHNIQUES
• SEA STATES
• BREAKWATERS
• PHOTOINTERPRETATION

Subject Categories:

• Cartography and Aerial Photography
• Physical and Dynamic Oceanography
• Civil Engineering

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE