An Accurate Model of Wave Refraction Over Shallow Water

A computer model of wave refraction is desirable, in the context of landscape modeling, to generate the familiar wave patterns seen near coastlines. In this article, we present a new method for the calculation of shallow water wave refraction. The method is more accurate than previously existing methods and provides realistic wave refraction effects. We resort to Fermat’s principle of the shortest path and compute the propagation of wavefronts over an arbitrary inhomogeneous medium. The propagation of wavefronts produces a phase map for each terrain. This phase map is then coupled with a geometric model of waves to generate a heightfield representation of the sea surface.