The distinct morphology of atolls drives complex three-dimensional hydrodynamics, yet field measurements in these remote environments remain scarce, and numerical models often fail to accurately capture key processes such as wave breaking on steep reef faces. To address this gap, we conducted physical experiments in a wave basin to investigate the propagation of solitary waves across a three-dimensional elliptical atoll under varying water depths and incident wave heights. Results show significant wave reflection, shoaling, and refraction as waves traverse across the atoll. Distinct hydraulic jumps, surge waves, and crest line lag were observed when solitary waves propagated into the lagoon over the emergent reef flat with h = 25 cm and 30 cm. Increased water depth from h = 25 cm to h = 30 cm or 35 cm enhances overtopping at the rear of the lagoon and advances its timing, transforming the leeward wave field from the converged diffracted waves to overtopping transmitted lagoon waves. Importantly, the wave height distribution depends critically on the water depth. When the atoll is emergent with h = 25 cm or 30 cm, wave heights are larger on the windward side and smaller within the lagoon and leeward region. Conversely, when the atoll is submerged with h = 35 cm, significant heights persisted windward, but larger maxima developed at the lagoon-rear and leeward sides. Notably, the measured maximum wave heights significantly exceed those from previous flume studies by a factor of ∼1.4 when the reef flat is at still water level with h = 30 cm and by a factor of ∼2.3 when submerged with h = 35 cm, which is attributed to the inclusion of refraction and diffraction effects in the three-dimensional basin experiments. Furthermore, solitary waves consistently trigger free oscillation within the lagoon across all depths. The free oscillation amplitude increases substantially, and higher-order modes progressively emerge with rising water depth. Future work should extend the study of solitary wave propagation over elliptical atolls by quantifying flow dynamics and incorporating surface roughness effects through high-resolution numerical simulations.
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