Abstract. Coastal vegetation has been increasingly recognized as an effective buffer against wind waves. Recent laboratory studies have considered realistic
vegetation traits and hydrodynamic conditions, which advanced our understanding of the wave dissipation process in vegetation (WDV) in field
conditions. In intertidal environments, waves commonly propagate into vegetation fields with underlying tidal currents, which may alter the WDV
process. A number of experiments addressed WDV with following currents, but relatively few experiments have been conducted to assess WDV with
opposing currents. Additionally, while the vegetation drag coefficient is a key factor influencing WDV, it is rarely reported for combined
wave–current flows. Relevant WDV and drag coefficient data are not openly available for theory or model development. This paper reports a unique
dataset of two flume experiments. Both experiments use stiff rods to mimic mangrove canopies. The first experiment assessed WDV and drag
coefficients with and without following currents, whereas the second experiment included complementary tests with opposing currents. These two
experiments included 668 tests covering various settings of water depth, wave height, wave period, current velocity and vegetation density. A
variety of data, including wave height, drag coefficient, in-canopy velocity and acting force on mimic vegetation stem, are recorded. This dataset
is expected to assist future theoretical advancement on WDV, which may ultimately lead to a more accurate prediction of wave dissipation capacity of
natural coastal wetlands. The dataset is available from figshare with clear instructions for reuse (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13026530.v2, Hu
et al., 2020). The current dataset will expand with additional WDV data from ongoing and planned observation in natural mangrove wetlands.
Drag Force Modeling of Surface Wave Dissipation by a Vegetation Field