Influence of boat activity on wave climate in Back Bay of Biloxi, MS

Wave energy is a major driver for many coastal processes and influences wetland vegetation and shoreline stability. Coastal conservation and restoration projects often include wave climate estimations in the decision-making process for project design. The current method primarily used to estimate a project area\u27s wave climate is the use of wind-wave models. These models use wind speed, wind direction, bathymetry, and fetch to estimate site-specific wave activity. However, these models neglect boat wake which is an important contributor to wave energy in fetch-limited environments. This study used site-specific wave measurements to compare wind-protected and open sites in Back Bay, Mississippi. Study results demonstrated that some protected sites experienced similar or even higher wave activity when compared to the open sites. These findings indicate that excluding boat activity from wave climate estimations could lead to an under-estimation of site-specific wave activity