Waves and Wave-Induced Current in the Decaying and Developing Process of Rip Channel

Abstract

Field measurements of bottom topography together with the wave height and water particle velocity in the shallow water region were carried out in September, 2008 and 2009 to investigate the relation between rip channel and rip current. On the relict rip channel, rip current is usually generated provided the wave incident angle does not change significantly or the incident wave height increases largely. The rip channel easily decays when the incident wave angle undergoes great change from normal to oblique. Even in the case where there is not any typical bottom configuration, rip current occurs from the hot spot where longshore currents converge that has a potential for generating rip channel through the interaction between wave and wave-induced current.