In the study “Wave Attenuation Experiments Over Living Shorelines Over Time: A Wave Tank Study to Assess Recreational Boating Pressures,” experiments were conducted on how well living shorelines do at calming waves approaching the shore. This study was created in response to shoreline erosion in Mosquito Lagoon, on the eastern coast of central Florida. These results can be interpreted for other coastal regions suffering the same conditions, like the Chesapeake Bay.
An indoor wave tank was used at the Florida Institute of Technology to conduct the shoreline treatment trials. The tank had wave gauges to measure the height of the waves, at three distances from the shore, as they approached the shoreline. Before the trials started, scientists conducted boat wake surveys in the lagoon. This was used to determine the average wave height, time period and number of waves generated by a recreational boat. It was found that the average wave height was 12.7 centimeters (5