Tidal modulation of wave-setup and wave-induced currents on the Abore coral reef, New Caledonia.

BONNETON, P., LEFEBVRE, J-P., BRETEL, P., OUILLON, S. and DOUILLET, P., 2007. Tidal modulation of wave-setup and wave-induced currents on the Abore coral reef, New Caledonia. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 50 (Proceedings of the 9th International Coastal Symposium), 762 - 766. Gold Coast, Australia, ISSN 0749.0208 As waves break on a reef, they create a radiation stress gradient that drives wave-setup and wave-induced currents. In this paper, tidally modulated wave-induced current and wave-setup are presented and analysed from field measurements performed on the Abore coral reef in the southwest lagoon of New Caledonia. We show, in agreement with analytical models by Symonds et al (1995) and Hearn (1999), that this tidally modulated wave circulation is mainly controlled by the difference between the depth at the breakpoint and the water depth over the reef. A specific calibration of these models is proposed for the Abore reef.