It is experimentally shown that a small concentration of air bubbles affects the plunging of breaking waves provoked by a dispersive compression of wave packet. The experiments were conducted in a wave flume with constant water depth. An air pump was used to generate curtains with different concentration of air bubbles. It was found that low concentration of air bubbles causes small dissipation of wave; however, these air bubbles significantly influence the position of the wave breaking point. It was revealed that the wave breaking point is highly sensitive to bubbles concentration and was connected with the generation of shear flows in the vicinity of bubble curtain.

wave packet, wave breaking point, dissipation of wave, bubbles curtain.