PHYSICAL MATHEMATICS SEMINAR



TITLE:		OCEAN WAVES AND SAND BARS

SPEAKER:	MATTHEW HANCOCK
		CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
		MASSACHUSETTS INSTUTE OF TECHNOLOGY


ABSTRACT:

The formation of sand bars along coastlines is a problem of fundamental interest, 
which has implications in shoreline protection and the prediction of coastal wave
climates. When ocean waves impinge upon a coastline or seawall and are reflected,
a field of partially standing waves is set up. These standing waves cause large and
small scale patterns to form on sandy seabeds. In particular, sand bars, whose length 
scales are the same as the ocean waves, can form on an initially flat sandy seabed. 
The various mechanisms involved in sand bar formation under ocean waves are explored 
in this talk, as is the dependence of sand bar morphology on the wave parameters and 
sand grain size. A physical model is presented and its predictions are compared to laboratory data.



TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2003  
2:30 pm
Building 2, Room 338

Refreshments will be served at 3:30 PM in Room 2-349

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department of Mathematics
Cambridge, MA  02139