Experimental validation of prediction methods for wave kinematics in the coastal zone

This paper deals with the prediction of wave kinematics in the nearshore and coastal zones, where bottom variations strongly affect wave propagation and characteristics. We consider shoaling and breaking wave conditions, through detailed LDV measurements of wave kinematics over the water column in a wave flume. This experimental data-base serves to evaluate and compare several numerical prediction methods, including Flat Bottom Theories (FBT), Sloping Bottom Methods (SBM) and Transfer Function Methods (TFM). It is shown that advanced TFM give the best predictions for wave kinematics, provided that the local free surface elevation signal is available. Particular SBM may also produce reliable prediction for the case of plane slope from a limited number of wave parameters, whereas FBT should not be used in the coastal zone as they are not able to model the shape nor the asymmetry of the velocity profiles.