Adjusting Manning coefficients to simulate tsunami propagation over porous coral reef

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of porous coral reef on the tsunami propagation in terms of experimental and numerical modelling. It aims at quantifying the influence of several input parameters on the wave attenuation and at adjusting Manning coefficients to reproduce experimental results. The density and the surface of individual reefs are fixed as well as the width and length of the coral barrier. Results show that the reef height is the most sensitive parameter. This latter affects the tsunami propagation with an attenuation of the first wave reaching 15 % compared to the case with a smooth reef. Wave breaking occurs on the reef flat for each test but, as expected, its location depends greatly on the reservoir depths difference. Numerical simulations show that the Manning coefficient must be adjusted both by considering the coral reef height and the spatial grid resolution. It varies from 0.01 (for lowest reef with highest grid resolution) to 0.058 (for higher reefs with coarsest grid resolution).