REEF POSITION OFFSHORE vs. WAVE HEIGHT

 

 

 

FRONT PAGE

 

INTRODUCTION

 

OBJECTIVES

 

METHODS OF ANALYSIS

 

HARBORING-AQUATIC-LIFE ARTIFICIAL REEFS

 

WAVE-BREAKING ARTIFICIAL REEFS

 

CONCLUSIONS

 

REFERENCES

REEF POSITION OFFSHORE:

 

          The Surfrider Foundation conducted several tests with different reef positions offshore.  These tests were complied into a spreadsheet, which is shown below:

 

                                                  

 

                                                   Several artificial reef parameters were inputed into the computer

                                                   program used to analyze the proposed reef off the shore of

                                                   El Segundo.  Note the wave height vs. offshore distance.

 

 

                                                 

 

                                                  The above data spreadsheet was reduced to this graph showing

                                                  wave height as a function of the reef’s location offshore.

 

           As the reef’s location is pushed further offshore, the wave height over the reef increases.  As the graph shows, the reef “extends the breaking point farther offshore to a limit that is dependent on reef height and wave height.  It also demonstrates that the line of breaking is controlled by the reef” [Surfrider, 12/12/03].  As the reef moves offshore, the wave breaking can be controlled by adjusting the reef height.