Modeling hydrodynamic properties of oyster reefs
Modeling hydrodynamic properties of oyster reefs lead image
Reefs form an essential part of many healthy coastlines, serving as ecosystems for marine life as well as barriers to protect coastal areas from waves, tides, and erosion. Understanding the hydrodynamic behavior of reefs can aid in building new reefs and maintaining existing ones.
One of the more common types of reefs is the oyster reef, formed from the growth of oysters on a hard surface. Often, these reefs are seeded with bagged oyster shells, which form the base for a future colony of living oysters.
Yin et al. investigated the hydrodynamic characteristics of a bagged oyster shell reef under regular waves.
“Few studies have experimentally or numerically investigated the wave transmission characteristics of shell-based oyster reefs,” said author Fei Wu. “Furthermore, the physical properties of oyster shells and the hydrodynamic behavior of a shell-based reef have not been adequately studied, forming an important knowledge gap that deserves exploration.”
The authors employed laboratory experiments along with numerical simulations to evaluate the effects of reef size and porosity on pore pressure and wave transmission. They found that longer reefs are more effective at reducing wave transmission, and that increasing porosity or wave steepness leads to increased wave transmission.
“The results provide a foundation for future research to refine our knowledge of the structural stability and wave attenuation efficiency of oyster reefs. They can potentially have significant implications for reef restoration and coastal protection, offering insights into designing more wave-dissipative and structurally stable oyster reefs.”
The authors plan to improve their model to account for changes due to the growth of live oysters on the reef surface.
Source: “Investigation of hydrodynamic characteristics of an oyster reef under regular waves,” by Zegao Yin, Fei Wu, Guoqing Li, and Haitao Pan, Physics of Fluids (2024). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0235683 .
