Coastal regions are increasingly exposed to low-frequency and long-period waves driven by climate change, sea-level rise, and intensifying extreme events, posing major challenges to conventional breakwater systems. Traditional structures are often inefficient for long-wave attenuation, resulting in high construction costs, limited adaptability, and potential environmental impacts. At the same time, growing coastal urbanization highlights the need for protection systems that enhance coastal resilience, ecosystem services, and community safety. Recent advances point to two promising directions: eco-engineered solutions such as mangroves, artificial reefs, and coral reef restoration that provide wave attenuation alongside habitat creation and ecosystem recovery; and innovative engineered breakwaters exploiting wave-resonance mechanisms, including fluid resonance in confined spaces, Bragg resonance, and rainbow trapping. Increasingly, hybrid breakwater systems integrating engineered and nature-based elements are emerging as unified coastal defense strategies, requiring interdisciplinary integration across hydrodynamics, structural design, and ecological processes.

Building on these challenges and opportunities, this Research Topic aims to advance innovative and resilient coastal protection strategies through the following objectives:
1. To enhance attenuation of low-frequency and long-period waves using resonance-based breakwater concepts, including fluid resonance in confined spaces and wave interference induced by periodic or array-type structures.
2. To advance physics-informed breakwater design by translating mechanisms such as Bragg resonance, rainbow trapping, and multi-body wave–structure interactions into scalable and performance-driven engineering solutions.
3. To promote eco-engineered and nature-based coastal protection by investigating wave–vegetation and wave–current–vegetation interactions, including the roles of artificial reefs and coral reef restoration in wave attenuation, habitat creation, and ecosystem services.
4. To develop hybrid breakwater systems that intentionally combine engineered and nature-based measures as integrated defense systems, jointly optimizing hydrodynamic efficiency, structural stability, and ecological function.
5. To bridge fundamental research and real-world implementation through validated experimental, numerical, and field-based studies addressing scalability and practical deployment.

This Research Topic welcomes Original Research, Reviews, Perspectives/Policy Briefs, Technology/Methods papers, and Brief Reports addressing innovative and sustainable breakwater design. Topics of interest include but not limited to:
• Resonance-based wave attenuation mechanisms (e.g., fluid resonance in confined spaces, chambered or perforated breakwaters), Bragg resonance induced by periodic structures, and broadband wave control using graded or chirped arrays exploiting rainbow trapping.
• Contributions on wave–vegetation and wave–current–vegetation interactions are encouraged, with emphasis on sediment transport, shoreline stabilization, and ecological feedbacks.
• Studies on eco-engineered and hybrid coastal protection systems—such as artificial reefs, coral reef restoration, vegetated structures, and combined nature-based and engineered breakwaters—are particularly welcome.
• Methodological contributions may include laboratory experiments, field observations, numerical simulations (e.g., CFD and coupled hydro-structural–ecological models), and advanced design and optimization techniques, including topology optimization, multi-objective optimization, and data-driven or hybrid frameworks.

Article Types
• Original Research, Review, Mini Review
• Perspective, Policy Brief, Opinion
• Technology & Code, Methods, Brief Research Report
• Data Report (where appropriate)

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Innovative Breakwater Designs: Optimizing Wave Energy Dissipation and Structural Stability in Coastal Protection