WAVE TRANSFORMATION OVER THE OUANO REEF BARRIER, NEW CALEDONIA

International audienceThis communication reports on a field experiments carried out on the Ouano reef barrier, New Caledonia. The analysis is based on a cross-shore network of pressure sensors deployed across the reef flat and within the lagoon. Confirming existing observations, the measurements show the strong filtering role of the reef barrier on the incoming wave energy The swell energy is dissipated and transferred toward lower frequencies, including the so-called infragravity (IG) and very low frequency (VLF) waves. During energetic event (Hs=4.2m), IG and VLF significant wave heights on the reef flat are observed to reach 1.2 and 0.7m, respectively. A variety of long waves modes are observed on the reef, combining standing and progressive-dissipative modes. In any cases, the VLF and IG waves are much more developed over and close to the reef flat than further inside the lagoon