Laboratory Study on Wave Attenuation by Elastic Mangrove Model with Canopy

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript “Laboratory study on wave attenuation by elastic mangrove model with canopy” investigates the hydrodynamic behavior of a scaled model of Kandelia obovata model with elasticity and varying vertical structures under different water depths in response to wave action. The study aims to quantitatively understand wave attenuation by an elastic mangrove model across varying water depths. The mangrove species Kandelia obovata was modeled based on field research to a geometric scaled ratio of 1:10, as well as the motion similarity was considered in this study by selecting an appropriate material that has close elastic modulus to the prototype. The study is interesting and delivers innovative research. and well-aligned with the scope of JMSE and presents genuine results with significant implications for marine science and engineering. The paper is clear and well-written, though some work is needed on sentence structure and typographical errors.

 

I recommend the paper to go for minor revision where small modifications are needed. Specific comments are provided in the attached PDF file. 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Author Response

Please see the attachment!

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Review of "Laboratory Study on Wave Attenuation by Elastic Mangrove Model with Canopy" by You-Xiang Lu et al.

In this paper, the authors evaluate the effectiveness of an artificial Kandelia obovate forest in wave attenuation through physical model experiments conducted in a wave flume.

The paper addresses a crucial issue, as mangrove forests are essential for coastal protection due to their wave attenuation capabilities. The authors used laboratory experiments to investigate the hydrodynamic behavior of Kandelia obovate with elasticity and a vertically varying structure under different water depths in response to wave action. To better predict wave attenuation, the authors employed multivariate nonlinear regression and a backpropagation neural network. They used a 1:10 scale model to simulate local wave conditions and a 1:100 gradient concrete slope for comparative experiments. The main results demonstrated that flexible Kandelia obovate performed well in wave attenuation, and the BP neural networks outperformed multivariate nonlinear regression.

I have included some minor corrections in the manuscript.

• In line 153, please delete "O(7)" or explain its meaning.
• Please provide a table explaining cases B1 to B32.
• I didn't quite understand how formula 10 was obtained. Please better justify how you arrived at the scale l in the formula.

I don't have any further specific comments related to the form or content of the article, other than to recognize that, overall, the subject is very important and interestingly presented, and the manuscript is well written. Furthermore, the methodologies and results are clearly presented and sound, and the quality of the discussion is very adequate for the results presented.

In conclusion, from a scientific point of view, this article is significant and has a broad scope, as it addresses the critical role of mangrove forests in wave attenuation and coastal protection.

I, therefore, have no objection to recommending the acceptance of the article after minor revisions.

Author Response

Comments 1: In line 153, please delete "O(7)" or explain its meaning..

Response 1: We apologize for using non-standard terminology. "O(7)" means "about 7." This has been corrected in line 57.

Comments 2: Please provide a table explaining cases B1 to B32 Response 2: Thank you for your valuable feedback. We have taken your suggestion into account and have included the table explaining cases B1 to B32 in the manuscript. The table can now be found in the manuscript at lines 269-270.

Comments 3: I didn't quite understand how formula 10 was obtained. Please better justify how you arrived at the scale l in the formula.

Response 3: Thank you for your valuable feedback. We have revised the manuscript in response to your comment. Specifically, we have added the scale relationship between the diameters in the prototype and the model of mangroves to the manuscript. By incorporating this new equation into the original one, we derived Eq. 10. This modification can be found in the revised manuscript on Line 320.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Interesting research. Well described experiments. Conclusions really based on experimental data.

A missing point is that there is no comparison of physical model data with prototype results. The scaling of E is logical, but not proven. Data from real mangrove forest are scarce, because of the lack good wave instrumentation in mangrove forest during storms. Maybe some info from the flume test with prototype-scale mangroves can be useful to verify the E-scaling hypothesis (see Scaled versus real-scale tests: Identifying scale and model errors in wave damping through woody vegetation,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107241

Author Response

Comments 1: A missing point is that there is no comparison of physical model data with prototype results. The scaling of E is logical, but not proven. Data from real mangrove forest are scarce, because of the lack good wave instrumentation in mangrove forest during storms. Maybe some info from the flume test with prototype-scale mangroves can be useful to verify the E-scaling hypothesis (see Scaled versus real-scale tests: Identifying scale and model errors in wave damping through woody vegetation,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107241

Response 1: Thank you very much for your constructive and insightful comments. We have taken your advice into account and have emphasized the potential differences between the model and the prototype in our manuscript. These discussions have been added to Lines 333-334 and Lines 644-645 of the revised document. Additionally, we have incorporated the reference you suggested, "Scaled versus real-scale tests: Identifying scale and model errors in wave damping through woody vegetation," into our list of references.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

See attached file

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

English needs moderate improvement, but there are also several spelling mistakes that need to be corrected.

Author Response

Please see the attachment!

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf