Development of a high-resolution wave hindcast model to support wave resource assessment in the U.S. Alaska coast
Abstract
Model hindcasts of wave climate have been widely used for assessing the wave energy resource and understanding its temporal and spatial variability. Simulation of the wave climate in a large domain with complicated geometry is particularly challenging as intensive, high-resolution grids are needed to adequately assess the nearshore wave resource. This study presents a modeling analysis of wave climates in the U.S. Alaska coast based on a high-resolution, 32-year wave hindcast from 1979 - 2010. The long-term wave hindcasts were generated using Unstructured Simulating Waves Nearshore (UnSWAN) driven by the multi-scale nested-grid WaveWatchIII (WWIII). Model validation was conducted using measured data from wave buoys available for the simulation period. A series of model sensitivity runs were conducted to evaluate the effects of iteration number and spectral resolution on the model run time and solution accuracy, as well as reducing the garden sprinkler effect. Inter-annual and seasonal variations of wave characteristics were analyzed along the Alaska coast. Dominant sea states were also investigated and quantified statistically.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFMGC22C..08W
- Keywords:
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- 3307 Boundary layer processes;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSESDE: 1630 Impacts of global change;
- GLOBAL CHANGEDE: 1635 Oceans;
- GLOBAL CHANGEDE: 4546 Nearshore processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL