CFD Modeling of Arctic Coastal Erosion due to Breaking Waves

Abstract

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of breaking waves over a slope and the resulting erosion in the case of an Arctic coastline is presented in this study. The study is performed with the open-source numerical model REEF3D. First, the numerical model is validated for the simulation of incident waves, wave breaking on a slope, and the sediment transport process. The numerical results show good agreement with wave theory and experimental data. The validated numerical model for the hydrodynamics and the sediment transport process is then used to simulate the coastal erosion process under the breaking wave impact on a vertical bluff. An Arctic coastline at Bjørndalen region at Isfjorden, Svalbard, is chosen, where a significant coastal erosion was observed during a storm event in September 2015.