Interaction of solitary waves with emergent, rigid vegetation

In this study, solitary wave interaction with emergent, rigid vegetation was studied numerically and experimentally. Laboratory experiments were carried out in a wave flume with vegetation models of different lengths and porosities; the Boussinesq equations with the effects of the vegetation being modeled by a quadratic drag law are used to simulate the wave scattering by and the wave propagation through vegetation. Effects of incident wave height, vegetation density, and vegetation length are discussed. An empirical expression for the mean drag coefficient of emergent, rigid vegetation is presented and compared with other available data. The results are useful for studying tsunami hazard mitigation by coastal forests. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.