The scattering and trapping of water waves by three-dimensional submerged topography, infinite and periodic in one horizontal coordinate and of finite extent in the other, is considered under the assumptions of linearized theory. The mild-slope approximation is used to reduce the governing boundary value problem to one involving a form of the Helmholtz equation in which the coefficient depends on the topography and is therefore spatially varying.

Two problems are considered: the scattering by the topography of parallel-crested obliquely incident waves and the propagation of trapping modes along the periodic topography. Both problems are formulated in terms of ‘domain’ integral equations which are solved numerically.

Trapped waves are found to exist over any periodic topography which is ‘sufficiently’ elevated above the unperturbed bed level. In particular, every periodic topography wholly elevated above that level supports trapped waves. Fundamental differences are shown to exist between these trapped waves and the analogous Rayleigh–Bloch waves which exist on periodic gratings in acoustic theory.

Results computed for the scattering problem show that, remarkably, there exist zeros of transmission at discrete wavenumbers for any periodic bed elevation and for all incident wave angles. One implication of this property is that total reflection of an incident wave of a particular frequency will occur in a channel with a single symmetric elevation on the bed. The zeros of transmission in the scattering problem are shown to be related to the presence of a ‘nearly trapped’ mode in the corresponding homogeneous problem.

The scattering of waves by multiple rows of periodic topography is also considered and it is shown how Bragg resonance – well-established in scattering of waves by two-dimensional ripple beds – occurs in modes other than the input mode.