• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.521-528
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• 2023

An approach for producing a rip current risk index using the rip current likelihood distribution obtained through the FUNWAVE simulations was applied to a rip current forecast system. The approach originally developed for an observation-based real-time rip current warning system was utilized with wave forecast data instead of observations for the rip current forecast system. The availability of the present approach was checked by comparing the observation-based rip current risk index and the wave forecast-based rip current risk index of the Haeundae Beach in 2021.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.1191-1201
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• 2014

The rip current warning index function, which estimates the likelihood of dangerous rip current in the real-time rip current warning system operating to help mitigate against rip current accidents at Haeundae beach, was studied. The rip current warning index evaluated as a function of various real-time observations was developed based on Choi et al. (2013b). This study shows a version of rip current warning index improved by including the effect of wave direction and spreadings of frequency-directional spectrum on rip current likelihood. The wave and tidal observations in 2012 at Haeundae coast were applied to the rip current index function, and its performances at several real events found based on CCTV images were presented and analyzed.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.477-490
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• 2013

A rip-current warning index function, which is estimated from the likelihood of rip current quantified based on numerical simulations under various sea environments and is varied according to real-time buoy-observations, was studied to help protect against rip current accidents at Haeundae beach. For the quantification, the definition of likelihood of rip current, which proposed by Choi et al. (2011, 2012b), was employed and estimated based on Boussinesq modelling. The distribution of likelihood of rip current was evaluated by using various simulations according to scenarios established based on physical quantities(i.e., wave parameters) of buoy-observations. To index the likelihood of rip current, empirical functions were derived based on the distribution and adjusted to observational environments. In this study, the observations from June to September in 2011 at Haeundae beach were applied to the rip-current index functions, and its applications into the real events found based on CCTV images were presented and investigated. In addition, limitations and improvements of the rip-current index function were discussed.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.205-218
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• 2013

The likelihood of rip current at Haeundae beach according to wave parameters, such as wave height, period, direction, and tidal elevation, was estimated by using numerical simulations with a Boussinesq model, FUNWAVE. To examine the estimation, the rip current occurred on 12th June, 2011 at Haeundae beach was simulated based on observations. For the estimation, the following procedure was carried out. First, extensive numerical simulations of nearshore circulations are performed under various random sea conditions according to the wave parameters. Second, from the numerical results, cross shore components of two-wave-period averaged velocities over the nearshore area were computed, and their seawardly maximum was defined as rip current velocity of the area. Third, using time series of the rip current velocity, we computed the ratio of the simulation time and the time period in which the rip current velocity exceed a threshold velocity for rip-current accidents, and thus the ratio was quantified as the likelihood of rip current at Haeundae beach for the input wave parameters. From the resultant estimations, it was found that the rip current likelihood increases as wave height and period increase, and tidal elevation decreases.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.843-854
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• 2022

For the rip current warning system to reduce rip-current accidents, the implementation method producing the risk index was modified. To produce fast response from the warning system based on real-time observations, the method employed the numerical results (i.e., rip current likelihoods according to the possible scenario) obtained in advance. In this study, instead of using the empirical curve-fitting functions of the previous method, the present modification utilized two-dimensional distributions (i.e., wave height and period, wave height and tidal elevation, wave height and direction, wave height and spreading of frequency-directional spectrum) of rip current likelihoods stacked in a database of the system. The wave and tidal observations in 2021 at the Haeundae coast were applied to the modified system, and its performances at several real events recorded in CCTV images were presented.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.55 no.9
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• pp.669-678
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• 2022

The Haeundae beach and coast suffered synthetical dramatic changes especially in the nearshore topography by the beach nourishment project (i.e., 2013-2015). A previous study showed the rip current characteristics were changed according to the topographical change in terms of their magnitudes and likelihoods through numerical simulations using the FUNWAVE model. The magnitude and likelihood of rip currents decreased because the surfzone width decreased just after the beach nourishment. In this study, however, numerical simulations of the Haeundae rip currents were performed by using the 2017- and 2020-surveyed topographies changed for several years after the beach nourishment. From the simulation results using the topographies surveyed before and after the beach nourishment, it was found that the magnitude and likelihood of rip currents increased due to its increasing surfzone width in 2017 and 2020 and they might be increasing larger than those before the beach nourishment.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.5B
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• pp.321-329
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• 2012

Two regular progressive wave trains, the directions of which are slightly different from each other, develop a honeycomb pattern of wave crests due to their nonlinear interaction. In the honeycomb pattern of wave crest, the nodal line area, which has very low wave energy, is formed. When the honeycomb pattern is developed near the beach area, rip current evolves through the nodal line area formed in the cross shore direction. In this study, to confirm that the formation of honeycomb pattern of waves near the beach area is a dominant mechanism of rip current occurred at Haeundae beach, we performed a numerical simulation of nearshore circulation at Haeundae beach under an unidirectional and monochromatic wave condition by using a nonlinear Boussinesq equation model. As a result, wave refraction due to topographical characteristics (i.e., submerged shoal) of Haeundae gave rise to several wave trains propagating with slightly different directions toward the beach, and consequently rip currents well developed through the nodal line area of honeycomb patterns of wave crest. In addition, we found that a narrow-banded spectral wave condition (i.e., a swell spectrum) increases more likelihood of rip current than a broad-banded spectral wave condtion based on the simulations employing various wave spectra with an equivalent wave height and period.