Decay of an initial discontinuity of water depth in a finite-length channel: Experiment

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of water wave motion occurring in a finite-length channel after rapid removal of a shield which produced an initial difference in depth between the headwater and tailwater regions. It is shown that the spectra of depth oscillation frequencies contain eigenfrequencies characteristic of seiches. Examples of direct and reflected waves and data on water depth variation after the reflection of a bore type wave from a vertical wall are given.