Wind-wave hindcast using modified ECMWF ERA-Interim wind field in the Mediterranean Sea

The application of an advanced third generation wave model to the Mediterranean Sea is described. The model is based on the physical description of the wind wave evolution, avoiding any shortcoming in the estimate of the single terms that contribute to the energy budget. The capability of the model to respond to any meteorological situation is illustrated by applying it to a severe storm occurred in January 1987. The results show that the crucial point for the final accuracy lies in the correct evaluation of the wind field.

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Dynamical Downscaling of ERA5 Data on the North-Western Mediterranean Sea: From Atmosphere to High-Resolution Coastal Wave Climate

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering ◽

10.3390/jmse9020208 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 208

Author(s):

Valentina Vannucchi ◽

Stefano Taddei ◽

Valerio Capecchi ◽

Michele Bendoni ◽

Carlo Brandini

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Wind Wave ◽

Dynamical Downscaling ◽

Wave Climate ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Limited Area ◽

Computational Domain ◽

Wave Hindcast ◽

The North ◽

Western Mediterranean Sea

A 29-year wind/wave hindcast is produced over the Mediterranean Sea for the period 1990–2018. The dataset is obtained by downscaling the ERA5 global atmospheric reanalyses, which provide the initial and boundary conditions for a numerical chain based on limited-area weather and wave models: the BOLAM, MOLOCH and WaveWatch III (WW3) models. In the WW3 computational domain, an unstructured mesh is used. The variable resolutions reach up to 500 m along the coasts of the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas (Italy), the main objects of the study. The wind/wave hindcast is validated using observations from coastal weather stations and buoys. The wind validation provides velocity correlations between 0.45 and 0.76, while significant wave height correlations are much higher—between 0.89 and 0.96. The results are also compared to the original low-resolution ERA5 dataset, based on assimilated models. The comparison shows that the downscaling improves the hindcast reliability, particularly in the coastal regions, and especially with regard to wind and wave directions.

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The Propagation of Wind Errors Through Ocean Wave Hindcasts

Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.2828832 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 118 (3) ◽

pp. 184-189 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

L. H. Holthuijsen ◽

N. Booij ◽

L. Bertotti

Keyword(s):

Sensitivity Analysis ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Wind Field ◽

Ocean Wave ◽

Wind Analysis ◽

Wave Forecast ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Field Errors

To estimate uncertainties in wave forecast and hindcasts, computations have been carried out for a location in the Mediterranean Sea using three different analyses of one historic wind field. These computations involve a systematic sensitivity analysis and estimated wind field errors. This technique enables a wave modeler to estimate such uncertainties in other forecasts and hindcasts if only one wind analysis is available.

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Use of Numerical Wind-Wave Models for Assessment of the Offshore Wave Energy Resource

Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.2829066 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 119 (3) ◽

pp. 184-190 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

M. T. Pontes ◽

S. Barstow ◽

L. Bertotti ◽

L. Cavaleri ◽

H. Oliveira-Pires

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Wave Energy ◽

Wind Wave ◽

Energy Resource ◽

Altimeter Data ◽

The North ◽

The North Atlantic ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Wave Models

In the last two decades the performance of numerical wind-wave models has improved considerably. Several models have been routinely producing good quality wave estimates globally since the mid-1980s. The verifications of wind-wave models have mainly focused on the evaluation of the error of the significant wave height Hs estimates. However, for wave energy purposes, the main parameters to be assessed are the wave power Pw and the mean (energy) period Te. Since Pw is proportional to Hs2 Tc, its expected error is much larger than for the single-wave parameters. This paper summarizes the intercomparison of two wind-wave models against buoy data in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea to select the most suitable one for the construction of an Atlas of the wave energy resource in European waters. A full verification in the two basins of the selected model—the WAM model implemented in the routine operation of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts—was then performed against buoy and satellite altimeter data. It was found that the WAM model accuracy is very good for offshore locations in the North Atlantic; but for the Mediterranean Sea the results are much less accurate, probably due to a lower quality of the input wind fields.

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Wind Waves in the Mediterranean Sea: An ERA5 Reanalysis Wind-Based Climatology

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.760614 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Francesco Barbariol ◽

Silvio Davison ◽

Francesco Marcello Falcieri ◽

Rossella Ferretti ◽

Antonio Ricchi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Wave Height ◽

Temporal Variability ◽

Satellite Altimetry ◽

Wind Waves ◽

Climate Indices ◽

Atmospheric Parameter ◽

Wave Hindcast ◽

Individual Wave ◽

The Mediterranean

A climatology of the wind waves in the Mediterranean Sea is presented. The climate patterns, their spatio-temporal variability and change are based on a 40-year (1980–2019) wave hindcast, obtained by combining the ERA5 reanalysis wind forcing with the state-of-the-art WAVEWATCH III spectral wave model and verified against satellite altimetry. Results are presented for the typical (50th percentile) and extreme (99th percentile) significant wave height and, for the first time at the regional Mediterranean Sea scale, for the typical and extreme expected maximum individual wave height of sea states. The climate variability of wind waves is evaluated at seasonal scale by proposing and adopting a definition of seasons for the Mediterranean Sea states that is based on the satellite altimetry wave observations of stormy (winter) and calm (summer) months. The results, initially presented for the four seasons and then for winter and summer only, show the regions of the basin where largest waves occur and those with the largest temporal variability. A possible relationship with the atmospheric parameter anomalies and with teleconnection patterns (through climate indices) that motivates such variability is investigated, with results suggesting that the Scandinavian index variability is the most correlated to the Mediterranean Sea wind-wave variability, especially for typical winter sea states. Finally, a trend analysis shows that the Mediterranean Sea typical and extreme significant and maximum individual wave heights are decreasing during summer and increasing during winter.

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