About the Project

Wave energy is a major driver for many coastal processes that directly influence shoreline vegetation and stability. Coastal conservation and restoration projects often include wave climate estimations in the decision-making process for project design. Currently, wind-wave models are the primary tool used to estimate site-specific wave climate and are subsequently a major driver of restoration project design. These models primarily incorporate wind speed, wind direction, bathymetry, and fetch to estimate wave climate. However, boat wake is often not incorporated into these models and is an important contributor to wave energy in fetch-limited environments. Therefore, in this study, site-specific wave measurements are being used to compare wind-protected and open sites in Back Bay, Mississippi. Preliminary results demonstrate that some protected sites experienced similar or greater wave activity when compared to the open sites.