• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.84-93
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• 2016

As a transition region between ocean and land, coastal wetlands are significant ecosystems that maintain water quality, provide natural habitat for a variety of species, and slow down erosion. The energy of coastal waves and storm surges are reduced by vegetation cover, which also helps to maintain wetlands through increased sediment deposition. Wave attenuation by vegetation is a highly dynamic process and its quantification is important for understanding shore protection and modeling coastal hydrodynamics. In this study, laboratory experiments were used to quantify wave attenuation as a function of vegetation type as well as wave conditions. Wave attenuation characteristics were investigated under regular waves for rigid model vegetation. Laboratory hydraulic test and numerical analysis were conducted to investigate regular wave attenuation through emergent vegetation with wave steepness ak and relative water depth kh. The normalized wave attenuation was analyzed to the decay equation of Dalrymple et al.(1984) to determine the vegetation transmission coefficients, damping factor and drag coefficients. It was found that drag coefficient was better correlated to Keulegan-Carpenter number than Reynolds number and that the damping increased as wave steepness increased.