Abstract
Seabed accretion, formation of a local irregular shoal as the result of disposal of dredged sediment, and modifications of the coastline configuration from anthropogenic action have introduced significant changes in the physical processes involved in wave propagation, and consequently on the wave climate, in the nearshore area of Hac-Sá Bay, Macau. Statistical analysis of the wave data recorded at a wave-rider station located offshore the study area revealed seasonal, energetic, and directional variation tendencies of the wave regime and facilitated schematization of a representative offshore wave regime. Numerical modelling of propagation and transformation of the components of the representative offshore wave regime, including processes of shoaling, refraction, diffraction, reflection, and breaking, was applied to assess the nearshore wave climate before and after the major coastline and seabed morphological changes. An advanced and accurate numerical model, suitable for the case study, was applied. Comparison of the results obtained for both situations showed that significant changes occurred in the wave climate due to the morphological evolution.
