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Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2005. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 110 (2005): C05019, doi:10.1029/2004JC002541., Observations of shear waves, alongshore propagating meanders of the mean alongshore current with periods of a few minutes and alongshore wavelengths of a few hundred meters, are compared with model predictions based on numerical solutions of the nonlinear shallow water equations. The model (after Özkan-Haller and Kirby (1999)) assumes alongshore homogeneity and temporally steady wave forcing and neglects wave-current interactions, eddy mixing, and spatial variation of the (nonlinear) bottom drag coefficient. Although the shapes of observed and modeled shear wave velocity spectra differ, and root-mean-square velocity fluctuations agree only to within a factor of about 3, aspects of the cross-shore structure of the observed (∼0.5–1.0 m above the seafloor) and modeled (vertically integrated) shear waves are qualitatively similar. Within the surf zone, where the mean alongshore current (V) is strong and shear waves are energetic, observed and modeled shear wave alongshore phase speeds agree and are close to both V and C lin (the phase speed of linearly unstable modes) consistent with previous results. Farther offshore, where V is weak and observed and modeled shear wave energy levels decay rapidly, modeled and observed C diverge from C lin and are close to the weak alongshore current V. The simulations suggest that the alongshore advection of eddies shed from the strong, sheared flow closer to shore may contribute to the offshore decrease in shear wave phase speeds. Similar to the observations, the modeled cross- and alongshore shear wave velocity fluctuations have approximately equal magnitude, and the modeled vorticity changes sign across the surf zone., This research was supported by the Office of Naval Research, the National Oceanographic Partnership Program, and the National Science Foundation.

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2004. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 109 (2004): C01031, doi:10.1029/2002JC001761., Alongshore propagating meanders of the mean alongshore current in the surf zone called shear waves have periods of a few minutes and wavelengths of a few hundred meters. Here shear wave properties are estimated with arrays of current meters deployed for 4 months within 300 m of the shoreline of a sandy beach. Shear wave velocity fluctuations are approximately horizontally isotropic, with root mean square values between 10 and 40% of the mean (3-hour-averaged) alongshore current V. Cross-shore variations of the time-averaged shear wave momentum flux are consistent with shear wave energy generation close to shore where the breaking wave-driven mean alongshore current V and current shear Vx are strong and with shear wave energy dissipation and transfer back to the mean flow farther offshore where V and Vx are weak. In case studies where V is a narrow jet near the shoreline the observed strong decay of shear wave energy levels seaward of the jet, and the cross-shore and alongshore structure of shear waves within the jet, are similar to predictions based on the linearly unstable modes of the observed V. Shear wave energy levels also are high in a marginally unstable case with a strong, but weakly sheared, V., This research was supported by the Office of Naval Research, the National Ocean Partnership Program and the National Science Foundation.

Observations of shear waves, alongshore propagating meanders of the mean alongshore current with periods of a few minutes and alongshore wavelengths of a few hundred meters, are compared with model predictions based on numerical solutions of the nonlinear shallow water equations. The model (after Özkan-Haller and Kirby (1999)) assumes alongshore homogeneity and temporally steady wave forcing and neglects wave-current interactions, eddy mixing, and spatial variation of the (nonlinear) bottom drag coefficient. Although the shapes of observed and modeled shear wave velocity spectra differ, and root-mean-square velocity fluctuations agree only to within a factor of about 3, aspects of the cross-shore structure of the observed (∼0.5–1.0 m above the seafloor) and modeled (vertically integrated) shear waves are qualitatively similar. Within the surf zone, where the mean alongshore current (V) is strong and shear waves are energetic, observed and modeled shear wave alongshore phase speeds agree and are close to both V and C lin (the phase speed of linearly unstable modes) consistent with previous results. Farther offshore, where V is weak and observed and modeled shear wave energy levels decay rapidly, modeled and observed C diverge from C lin and are close to the weak alongshore current V. The simulations suggest that the alongshore advection of eddies shed from the strong, sheared flow closer to shore may contribute to the offshore decrease in shear wave phase speeds. Similar to the observations, the modeled cross- and alongshore shear wave velocity fluctuations have approximately equal magnitude, and the modeled vorticity changes sign across the surf zone.

Alongshore propagating meanders of the mean alongshore current in the surf zone called shear waves have periods of a few minutes and wavelengths of a few hundred meters. Here shear wave properties are estimated with arrays of current meters deployed for 4 months within 300 m of the shoreline of a sandy beach. Shear wave velocity fluctuations are approximately horizontally isotropic, with root mean square values between 10 and 40% of the mean (3-hour-averaged) alongshore current V. Cross-shore variations of the time-averaged shear wave momentum flux are consistent with shear wave energy generation close to shore where the breaking wave-driven mean alongshore current V and current shear Vx are strong and with shear wave energy dissipation and transfer back to the mean flow farther offshore where V and Vx are weak. In case studies where V is a narrow jet near the shoreline the observed strong decay of shear wave energy levels seaward of the jet, and the cross-shore and alongshore structure of shear waves within the jet, are similar to predictions based on the linearly unstable modes of the observed V. Shear wave energy levels also are high in a marginally unstable case with a strong, but weakly sheared, V.