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KALON MORRIS
Professor of Marine Science, Saddleback College.
Research Scientist, Center for Coastal Studies,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
7-26-03
To whom it may concern
Re: Surf City Texas
With the international popularity of surfing growing everyday,
ocean surf breaks become more crowded by the minute. The lack
of man-made waves’ ability to reproduce the power, speed, and
thrill of
ocean surfing has not improved the situation. A virtually unlimited
market exists for such a facility; and I believe that Surf City
Texas' wave
generating technology, wave pool design, and business plan are the
ideal
ways to fill this void.
After visiting Surf City Texas' model wave pool, I am confident
that a full-scale version will be able to produce the best man-made
surfing wave in the world. No other current technology or design
can
create the speed, power, and breaking wave shape necessary. Numerous
physical models have proven the wave cannon's ability to generate
a
surface gravity wave. This process will scale linearly; increasing
the
diameter and volume of the cannons will produce a corresponding
increase
in wave height. Surf City Texas' wave pool geometry does an excellent
job
of dissipating wave energy once the ride is over. Reflection of
wave
energy off pool walls back into the surfing area is almost non-existent;
quite an achievement considering the relatively small pool area
and the
amount of energy generated by the wave cannons. This allocates the
maximum possible amount of wave energy for use by the surfer and
allows
the wave pool surface to 'settle down' quickly and a new wave to
enter the
pool undisturbed every 60 seconds.
The most difficult part of this project to replicate in a scale
model is the breaking wave itself. Due to the inherent non-linearity
of
breaking waves, the process will not scale linearly. Both the Reynolds
and Froude numbers (nondimensional parameters governing the dynamic
similarity of free-surface flows) are important in this domain,
they
cannot both be satisfied without changing the kinematic viscosity
of
water. Also, at small scales the surface tension of liquid water
becomes
increasingly important. The breaking wave shape will be adversely
effected by the cohesion of individual water molecules at the
free-surface. Even with these limitations, the model wave pool produces
a breaking wave shape that will far outstrip all other previous
attempts.
I believe that as the wave is scaled up (and surface tension effects
disappear), its breaking shape will become more like that of traditional
ocean surfing waves. Before construction of the prototype is completed,
my numerical modeling will suggest the best ways to contour the
pool bottom
to further improve the shape of the breaking wave.
Enthusiasm within the surfing community for this project is
incredibly high. With the current business plan, surfers can enjoy
a year
long membership for less than the cost of a week long surf trip
to such
popular locations as Fiji, Australia, and Indonesia (where there
is no
guarantee of surfable waves that week). Coupled with the ability
of wave
pools to reach land-locked areas and expose surfing to a large audience,
Surf City Texas will reap benefits for surfers as well as its owners.
I am
honored to be a part of this project and look forward enthusiastically
to
its grand opening!
Kalon Morris
Professor of Marine Science, Saddleback College.
Research Scientist, Center for Coastal Studies,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
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