44-year wave hindcast for the Eastern Mediterranean

Within the EU-funded project HIPOCAS (Hindcast of Dynamic Processes of the Ocean and Coastal Area of Europe), high-resolution wave hindcasts were performed for the period 1958–2001 over the Eastern Mediterranean. The state-of-the-art WAM model was used for producing the 44-year wave data set. The wave model was driven by wind data generated from the regional atmospheric model REMO. The WAM model outputs of significant wave height were validated against in-situ measurements and satellite data. The model results show a good agreement with observations. The homogeneous wave data set produced by the model was then used for a study of long-term variability and climatic trends in the region.     

Sensitivity of wave model predictions to wind fields in the Western Mediterranean sea

The paper compares the wave hindcast in the Western Mediterranean sea using the reanalysis wind fields from HIPOCAS and ERA-40 from ECMWF for November 2001. The study has concentrated on the Mediterranean coast of Spain where there are known difficulties with the wind and wave modelling. Two winter storms have been compared. The main differences between the significant wave heights using the ERA-40 reanalysis (ECMWF) and HIPOCAS reanalysis winds were observed to increase when moving southwards in the geographical domain at the offshore locations. Systematic negative biases of Hs were obtained with the ERA-40 data at all the coastal locations analyzed, whereas positive biases are typical for the HIPOCAS reanalysis. For offshore and coastal locations when using the ERA-40 data the Hs biases increased moving to South, while this pattern was not so clear for the HIPOCAS data. The inconsistencies in the comparisons of modelled waves against measurements seem to be associated with the quality of the wind fields.     

44 Years Hindcast of the sea level and circulation in the Baltic Sea

The subject of the investigation was the multiyear hindcast of the sea level elevations and currents over the Baltic Sea. The approach follows to the HIPOCAS project conception and contained the 3D hydrodynamic model using boundary conditions from the atmosphere and catchment for 44-year period referring to the second half of the 20th century.     

Evaluation of a method to reduce uncertainty in wind hindcasts performed with regional atmosphere models

For more and more applications in coastal and offshore engineering, numerical simulations of waves and surges are required. An important input parameter for such simulations are wind fields. They represent one of the major sources for uncertainties in wave and surge simulations. Wind fields for such simulations are frequently obtained from numerical hindcasts with regional atmospheric models (RAMs). The skill of these atmospheric hindcasts depends, among others, on the quality of the forcing at the boundaries. Furthermore, results may vary due to uncertainties in the initial conditions. By comparing different existing approaches for forcing a regional atmospheric model, it is shown that the models' sensitivity to uncertainties in the initial conditions may be reduced when a more sophisticated approach is used that has been suggested recently. For a specific, although somewhat brief test period, it is demonstrated that an improved hindcast skill for near surface wind fields is obtained when this approach is adopted. Consequences of the reduced uncertainty in wield fields for the hindcast skill of subsequent wave modelling studies are demonstrated. Recently, this new approach has been used together with a regional atmosphere model to produce a 40-year wind hindcast for the Northeast Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The hindcast is presently extended to other areas and the wind fields are used to produce 40-year high-resolution hindcasts of waves and surges for various European coastal areas.     

The 44-year Mediterranean HIPOCAS wind database: A useful tool to analyse offshore extreme wind events from a long-term regional perspective

Nowadays, many efforts are leading to use the high potential offshore wind energy resources. A detailed assessment of the offshore wind resources arises as a first-rate requirement. Most of such assessment is based on extreme offshore wind atlas generated mainly from global reanalysis and satellite data. Both sort of data show certain shortcomings related, among others, to coarse spatial resolution and time inhomogeneity issues, respectively. This snag seems to be crucial over areas such as the Mediterranean Basin, which is characterized by a complex land–sea distribution and a significant orography. The HIPOCAS Mediterranean long-term (1958–2001) wind database comes to overcome the aforementioned reanalysis shortcoming and provides a Mediterranean wind data set useful to perform extreme wind analysis. This contribution also deals with a statistical extreme wind analysis over the whole Mediterranean offshore areas. Extreme return periods and levels are obtained from annual maxima using a number of distributions. Additionally, an alternative regional statistical method based on regional L-moment statistics is also proposed. The regional technique is applied to reduce uncertainty and allows a higher number of measurements to be included in the analysis, using data from a homogeneous region instead of from a single location. The herein performed extreme wind analysis provides a detailed assessment of high wind offshore areas over the Mediterranean and constitutes a subject of great interest for evaluation of wind resources.     

海洋初始状态对预报2002/03年中太平洋型厄尔尼诺事件的作用

2002/03年厄尔尼诺事件,是暖海温中心出现在赤道中太平洋区域的一种新型厄尔尼诺,即中太平洋型厄尔尼诺。本文基于一个厄尔尼诺预测系统,利用三组回报试验来详细区分海洋表层和次表层初始状态对预报2002/03年中太平洋型厄尔尼诺事件的作用,并由此来探寻对预报厄尔尼诺演变过程最有利的初始条件。回报试验分为三组:(1)仅同化海表温度观测(sea surface temperature;简称SST)来优化海洋表层初始状态(Assim_SST);(2)仅同化海表高度观测(sea level;简称SL)来更新海洋次表层初始状态(Assim_SL);(3)同时同化SST和SL观测来一起更新海洋表层和次表层初始状态(Assim_SST+SL)。回报试验结果表明,三种不同的初始条件都可以使模式提前一年成功地预报2002/03年厄尔尼诺事件,并且"Assim_SST+SL"回报试验的效果最好。三组回报试验结果间的对比表明:海洋表层和次表层初始状态均对成功地预报该事件有重要作用,但其作用分别集中在事件发展的不同阶段。精确的海洋表层初始状态更容易激发模式预报出一次厄尔尼诺事件,而更合理的海洋次表层初始状态则能有效地提高厄尔尼诺事件预报的强度。     

Evaluation of a high-resolution wave hindcast model SWAN for the West Mediterranean basin

This study aims to present an evaluation and implementation of a high-resolution SWAN wind wave hindcast model forced by the CFSR wind fields in the west Mediterranean basin, taking into account the recent developments in wave modelling as the new source terms package ST6. For this purpose, the SWAN model was calibrated based on one-year wave observations of Azeffoune buoy (Algerian coast) and validated against eleven wave buoys measurements through the West Mediterranean basin. For the calibration process, we focused on the whitecapping dissipation coefficient C_ds and on the exponential wind wave growth and whitecapping dissipation source terms. The statistical error analysis of the calibration results led to conclude that the SWAN model calibration corrected the underestimation of the significant wave height hindcasts in the default mode and improved its accuracy in the West Mediterranean basin. The exponential wind wave growth of Komen et al (1984) and the whitecapping dissipation source terms of Janssen (1991) with C_ds = 1.0 have been thus recommended for the western Mediterranean basin. The comparison of the simulation results obtained using this calibrated parameters against eleven measurement buoys showed a high performance of the calibrated SWAN model with an average scatter index of 30% for the significant wave heights and 19% for the mean wave period. This calibrated SWAN model will constitute a practical wave hindcast model with high spatial resolution (˜3 km) and high accuracy in the Algerian basin, which will allow us to proceed to a finer mesh size using the SWAN nested grid system in this area.     

The sheltering effect of the Balearic Islands in the hindcast wave field

The sheltering effect of the Balearic Islands in the hindcast wave field was studied for typical Mediterranean wave situations of Llevant, Tramuntana and Mestral and for mild conditions such as the Garbí and Ponent winds. For this purpose, a third generation wave model was applied to the Mediterranean Sea and different patterns of the sheltered areas were found for the various representative situations depending on the wind variability and on the magnitude of the wind speed. From the analysis it was concluded that the sheltered zones created during storms generally persist for short periods of time of the order of 6 h, possibly reaching a maximum of 12 h. In contrast with earlier results obtained for swell dominated ocean areas, it was observed that in this area, due to the short fetches the sea states are mainly local wind seas and thus the wave field behind the islands depends on the local wind.     

南海及周边海域风浪流耦合同化精细化数值预报与信息服务系统简介

面向社会需求,建立覆盖南海及周边海域的高分辨率风-浪-流耦合同化数值预报与信息服务系统。系统包含耦合同化数值预报模式、海洋动力环境数据库与可视化平台两部分。其中,耦合同化数值预报模式由中尺度大气数值预报模式、海浪数值预报模式和区域海洋环流数值模式,在C-Coupler耦合器中进行耦合,引入集合调整Kalman滤波同化模块,在耦合预报前进行大气、海浪和海流的同化后报模拟,为耦合预报模式提供更为精确的初始场。预报结果经海洋动力环境数据库和可视化平台处理后,通过二维和三维可视化展示,向用户提供直观的南海及周边海域海洋环境预报产品。     

Predictability of Interannual Variability in the Kuroshio Transport South of Japan Based on Wind Stress Data over the North Pacific

It is expected that a roughly two-year forecast of the Kuroshio transport variation can be made from a past record of wind stress data over the ocean, since it takes nearly ten years for the first-mode baroclinic Rossby wave to traverse the entire basin in the midlatitude North Pacific (∼30°N). We therefore investigated the predictability using an ocean general circulation model driven by the wind stress data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis. Referring to a hindcast experiment as the control run, we carried out fifteen forecast experiments, the initial conditions of which are taken from the hindcast experiment at intervals of two years during the period from the end of 1969 to the end of 1997. Each of the forecast experiments is driven only by wind stress in the year preceding each experiment. The forecasted Kuroshio transport anomaly south of Japan agrees better with the hindcasted one during the first two years of the forecast in most cases. In some cases, however, significant disagreements occur, most of which are likely due to larger unpredictable variations caused by wind stress anomalies near Japan. At the end of forecast year 2, the anomaly correlation coefficient is about 0.7, and rms of the forecast error is smaller than rms of the hindcasted anomaly. These results indicate that the prediction of the interannual variability in the Kuroshio transport could be made two years in advance at a statistically significant level. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Wave climate variability in the North Atlantic in recent decades in the winter period using numerical modeling

The study focuses on investigating significant wave height, including both mean and extreme values, in the North Atlantic in winter during the period from 1979 to 2010. We perform a 32-year wind wave hindcast for the North Atlantic using a spectral ocean wave model (WaveWatch III) and a high-resolution nonhydrostatic atmospheric model (WRF-ARW), which provides the wind forcing function. Analysis of the 32-year hindcast of wave characteristics in the North Atlantic reveals stronger mean and extreme waves simulated with high resolution modeling systems and identifies significant downward trends in the mean significant wave height in the subpolar North Atlantic. Such trends were not found in the wave characteristics from ERA-Interim reanalysis. At the same time, the 32-year hindcast did not confirm the statistically significance of strong positive trends in the central Atlantic diagnosed by ERA-Interim reanalysis; differences between the reanalysis and hindcast are discussed.     

A coupled discrete wave model MRI-II

An ocean wind-wave prediction model MRI-II is developed on the basis of the energy balance equation which contains five energy transfer processes, namely, the input by the wind, the nonlinear transfer among the components of windsea by resonant wave-wave interactions, wave breaking, frictional dissipation and the effect of opposing winds. The nonlinear energy transfer is expressed implicitly together with the wind effect by Toba's one-parameter representation of windsea, but neither swell-swell nor swell-windsea resonant interactions are considered. Hypothetical assumptions are introduced to describe wave breaking effects. The numerical constant required in the assumptions of wave breaking is determined through trial test runs for a hindcast performed on the North-western Pacific Ocean. The significant wave height, one-dimensional wave spectrum and two-dimensional wave spectrum hindcasted by this new model are in more reasonable agreement with observations than those obtained with our old model MRI.     

Modelling of multipeaked directional wave spectra

An approach for modelling of multipeaked directional wave spectra is proposed. For model identification, a numerical optimization technique that uses the random linear search algorithm is applied. This technique allows the fitting of spectral models to measured or hindcast data. The HIPOCAS hindcast data for North Atlantic are used for an application study.     

Propagation of wind and buoyancy forced density anomalies in the North Pacific: Dependence on ocean model resolution

The response of the thermocline to changes in atmospheric forcing are explored in two 50-year hindcast North Pacific model runs. The model runs only differ in their resolution and horizontal viscosity values. The thermocline response is explored through a modal decomposition. The first baroclinic mode response is qualitatively similar in both model runs, with a somewhat smaller response in the lower resolution model. This mode is primarily wind driven. The second baroclinic mode shows a larger response at midlatitudes in the low-resolution model than in the higher resolution model. This is consistent with the presence of very large-scale baroclinic instability in the return flow of the subtropical gyre at low-resolution, and represents a spurious response of the ocean model to large horizontal viscosity. This spurious mode of decadal variability in the thermocline is maintained even when there is variability in atmospheric forcing. This result suggests that care must be taken in interpretation of the realism of mid-latitude modes of variability centered in western boundary current extensions of coupled ocean–atmosphere models.     

Wave Hindcast for the Neighbouring Seas of Korea Based on Loosely Coupled Wave-Tide-Surge Model

A hindcast simulation of 75 typhoons and winter monsoons which affected the coastal areas of Korean Peninsula is performed by use of a third generation ocean wave prediction model, WAM-cycle 4 model, loosely coupled with a com-bined tide and surge model. Typhoon wind fields are derived from the planetary marine boundary layer model for effective neutral winds embedding the vortical storm wind from the parameterized Rankin vortex type model in the limited areas of the overall modeled region. The hindcasted results illustrate that significant wave heights (SWH) considering the wave-tide-surge coupled process are significantly different from the results via the decoupled case especially in the region of the estuaries of the Changjiang Estuary, The Hangzhou Bay, and the southwestern tip of Korean Peninsula. This extensive model simulation is the first attempt to investigate the strong wave-tide-surge interaction for the shallow depth area along the coasts of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea Continental     

Coupled process-based cyclone surge simulation for the Bay of Bengal

We have developed a wind-wave-surge coupled process-based numerical model for simulating storm surge, consisting of a meso-scale atmospheric model (MM5), a third-generation spectral wave model (WW3) and a coastal ocean model (POM). We introduced an additional sea surface shear stress by wave dissipation into the model to consider the process of energy transfer from winds to currents through whitecap breaking. We demonstrate the importance of this energy transfer path through a hindcast simulation of a cyclone surge in April, 1991 in the Bay of Bengal: it helps generate mean current and has wave effects on wind-induced current fields in extremely shallow water areas.     

Coupled process-based cyclone surge simulation for the Bay of Bengal

We have developed a wind-wave-surge coupled process-based numerical model for simulating storm surge, consisting of a meso-scale atmospheric model (MM5), a third-generation spectral wave model (WW3) and a coastal ocean model (POM). We introduced an additional sea surface shear stress by wave dissipation into the model to consider the process of energy transfer from winds to currents through whitecap breaking. We demonstrate the importance of this energy transfer path through a hindcast simulation of a cyclone surge in April, 1991 in the Bay of Bengal: it helps generate mean current and has wave effects on wind-induced current fields in extremely shallow water areas.     

Storm surge simulation using wind-wave-surge coupling model

Simulation of a storm surge caused by Typhoon 9918 in the Yatsushiro Sea, Kyushu, Japan was hindcasted by the synchronous coupled wind-wave-surge model composed of a Meso-scale meteorological model (MM5) for the wind and sea surface pressure, a spectral third-generation wind-wave model (Wavewatch III) for waves, and the coastal ocean model (Princeton Ocean Model). Inclusion of the whitecap wave breaking stresses (whitecap dissipation stress) in the coastal ocean model made it possible to reproduce the extreme surge height in the extremely shallow bay.