Video-based Nearshore Depth Inversion using WDM Method

A new remote sensing method for estimating nearshore water depths from video imagery has been developed and applied as part of an ongoing field study at Bethany Beach, Delaware. The new method applies Donelan et al's Wavelet Direction Method (WDM) to compact arrays of pixel intensity time series extracted from video images. The WDM generates a non-stationary time series of the wavenumber and wave direction at different frequencies that can be used to create frequency-wavenumber and directional spectrums. The water depth is estimated at the center of each compact array by fitting the linear dispersion relation to the frequency-wavenumber spectrum. Directional spectral results show good correlation to directional spectral results obtained from a slope array located just offshore of Bethany Beach. Additionally, depth estimations from the WDM are compared to depth measurements taken with a kayak survey system at Bethany Beach. Continuous measurements of the bathymetry at Bethany Beach are needed for inputs to fluid dynamics and sediment transport models to study the morphodynamics in the nearshore zone and can be used to monitor the success of the recent beach replenishment project along the Delaware coast.