Surface wave propagation in mangrove forests

Abstract

Mangroves are a special form of vegetation as they exist at the boundary of terrestrial and marine environment. They have a special role in supporting fisheries and in the stabilizing the tropical coastal zones. Biochemical and trophodynamic processes in the mangroves are strongly linked to water movement, due to tides and waves. In this paper we present the theoretical attempt to predict the attenuation of wind-induced random surface waves in the mangrove forest. The energy dissipation in the frequency domain is determined by treating the mangrove forest as a random media with certain characteristics determined using the geometry of mangrove trunks and their locations. Initial nonlinear governing equations are linearized using the concept of minimalization in the stochastic sense and interactions between mangrove trunks and roots have been introduced through the modification of the drag coefficients. The resulting rate of wave energy attenuation depends strongly on the density of the mangrove forest, diameter of mangrove roots and trunks, and on the spectral characteristics of the incident waves. Examples of numerical calculations as well as preliminary results from observation of wave attenuation through mangrove forests at Townsville (Australia) and Iriomote Island (Japan) are given.