Tsunami waves and breakwaters: This is a continuation of Exercise 8. Breakwaters affect wave height by reducing energy. (See Figure 5.40.) If a tsunami wave of height H in a channel of width W...

Tsunami waves and breakwaters: This is a continuation of Exercise 8. Breakwaters affect wave height by reducing energy. (See Figure 5.40.) If a tsunami wave of height H in a channel of width W encounters a breakwater that narrows the channel to a width w, then the height h of the wave beyond the breakwater is given by h = H R0.5 , where R is the width ratio R = w W .

a. Suppose a wave of height 8 feet in a channel of width 5000 feet encounters a breakwater that narrows the channel to 3000 feet. What is the height of the wave beyond the breakwater?

b. If a channel width is cut in half by a breakwater, what is the effect on wave height?