Empirical wave run-up formula for wave, storm surge and berm width

An empirical model to predict wave run-up on beaches considering storm wave and surge conditions and berm widths (dry beach) has been derived through a synthetic data set generated from a one-dimensional Boussinesq wave model. The new run-up equation is expressed as a function of a new Iribarren number composed of three regions: the foreshore, the berm or dry beach width, and the dune. The dissipative effect of the berm is included as a reduction factor expressed as a function of the berm width normalized by the offshore wavelength. The equation is relatively simple but is shown to be applicable for a fairly wide variety of berm widths and storm wave conditions associated with extreme events such as hurricanes, and it is shown to be an improvement over existing empirical run-up models that do not consider the berm width explicitly. In addition, the new parameterization of the Iribarren number considering the three regions and the berm width reduction factor are shown to improve other empirical models. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.