Welcome to the REF/DIF homepage. REF/DIF is a phase-resolving parabolic refraction-diffraction model for ocean surface wave propagation. It was originally developed by Jim Kirby and Tony Dalrymple starting in 1982, based on Kirby's dissertation work. This work led to the development of REF/DIF 1, a monochromatic wave model.
Subsequently, Tuba Ozkan-Haller and Arun Chawla have developed a spectral version of the model called REF/DIF S. Subsequently, Jim Kaihatu and Erick Rogers have served as the lead model testers and debuggers for this code. REF/DIF is copyright under the terms of the Gnu Public License.
You may go here to get instructions for downloading software and manuals.
Fengyan Shi has provided a Windows based version along with a GUI. This may be obtained at http://coastal.udel.edu/~fyshi/refdifwin/refdifwin.html. A tutorial is also provided.
Recently, the paper "Comparison of wave refraction and diffraction models" by J.P.Y. Maa et al, J. Coast. Res., 16, 1073-1082, 2000, has provided calculations using REF/DIF 1 which are clearly in error. This fact has been noted in a subsequent discussion by Grassa and Flores, J. Coast. Res., 17, 762-764, 2001. However, the paper occasionally prompts questions to me, so I have put together a discussion of those results. The pdf file for this discussion is here.
Simulations performed by Tony
Dalrymple
and Katie Fearing of a Hawaiian surfing shoal described in the November 1998
issue of National
Geographic Magazine.
See the Jaws Maui Web Page for further
impressive photographs.
CNN
Interactive has also jumped on the story, publishing an account of the CACR
simulations on Oct. 30, 1998.
Return to James T. Kirby's home page.
Return to James T. Kirby's software home page.
Return to CACR home page.