Investigation of Wind Forcing on the Energy Dissipation of Solitary Waves in a Storm Surge*

Despite being a key aspect of the energy transfer between the ocean and atmosphere, the detailed dynamics of wave breaking, especially under the influence of wind, are not yet fully understood. We present direct numerical simulations of two-dimensional solitary waves that shoal and break in shallow water on a uniform beach slope with an inundated inshore storm surge area, under low to medium wind loading conditions. The primary parameters are the beach slope, wave amplitude and wind speed. The wave overturning is fully modeled, and both plunging and spilling breakers are observed. The wave form drag, surface pressure amplitude and phase shift are reported and compared with the results from prior numerical and experimental studies. We explore the wind loading effect on the breaker properties and the energy dissipation of the wave during breaking; and compare breaking energy dissipation rates with current inertial models which were developed without consideration of wind.