Field experiment on secondary wave generation on a barred beach and the consequent evolution of energy dissipation on the beach face

A field experiment, conducted on a sandy, barred beach situated on the southern part of the French Atlantic coastline, allowed us to investigate the formation of secondary waves when a moderate (significant wave height of about 0.8 in in 3.7-m water depth), long (11-14 s) narrowband swell propagated over an intertidal ridge and runnel system, in both breaking and nonbreaking conditions. Field evidence using higher spectral analysis is given for the sum interactions between pairs of waves at the primary spectral peak and the consequent energy transfer to nearly harmonic wave components. Although wave breaking appears to weaken the strength of nonlinear couplings, the generation of high-frequency energy is hardly affected by wave breaking. The phenomenon of harmonic decoupling, which takes place behind the bar, cannot be completely ascribed to the increase in water depth and the so-called deshoaling effect. Indeed, the variation in the values of the maximum bicoherence was very moderate when no breaking occurred. Finally, the doubling in the number of wave crests and the consequent decrease in the significant wave period delay the energy dissipation on the beach face. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.