Author(s)

M.H. Gimenez and C.R. Sanchez-Carratala

Abstract

Representative directions of a directional sea state are studied and compared with respect to the determination of wave energy propagation near the coast. The mean wave direction, commonly used as the representative direction of a directional sea state, is associated with the orbital criterion for discretizing waves. On the other hand, the principal wave direction is associated with the zero-up-crossing criterion. These representative directions are shown to drastically differ when a wave train reflects on a coastal structure. While the principal direction could be useful in some problems related to wave steepness, the mean direction proves to be the direction in which the energy is actually propagated. This intere

Keywords