Estimation of extreme wave heights using GEOSAT measurements

Satellite technology has yielded a large database of global ocean wave heights which may be used for engineering applications. However, the sampling protocol used by the satellite leads to some difficulties in making use of these data for practical applications. These difficulties and techniques to estimate extreme wave heights using satellite measurements are discussed. Significant wave heights for a 50-year return period are estimated using GEOSAT measurements for several regions around North America. Techniques described here may be used for estimation of wave heights associated with any specified return interval in regions where buoy data are not readily available.