Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Sparks, Eric

Committee Member

Linhoss, Anna

Committee Member

Baker, Beth

Date of Degree

4-30-2021

Original embargo terms

Worldwide

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Abstract

Wave energy is a major driver for many coastal processes and influences wetland vegetation and shoreline stability. Coastal conservation and restoration projects often include wave climate estimations in the decision-making process for project design. The current method primarily used to estimate a project area's wave climate is the use of wind-wave models. These models use wind speed, wind direction, bathymetry, and fetch to estimate site-specific wave activity. However, these models neglect boat wake which is an important contributor to wave energy in fetch-limited environments. This study used site-specific wave measurements to compare wind-protected and open sites in Back Bay, Mississippi. Study results demonstrated that some protected sites experienced similar or even higher wave activity when compared to the open sites. These findings indicate that excluding boat activity from wave climate estimations could lead to an under-estimation of site-specific wave activity.

Sponsorship

Mississippi State University MAFES

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