Real time wave forecasting using neural networks

Forecasting of ocean wave heights, with warning time of a few hours or days, is necessary in planning many operation-related activities in the ocean. Such information is currently derived by numerically solving the differential equation representing wave energy balance. The solution procedure involved is extremely complex and calls for very large amounts of meteorological and oceanographic data. This paper presents a complementary and simple method to make a point forecast of waves in real time sense based on the current observation of waves at a site. It incorporates the technique of neural networks. The network involved is first trained by different algorithms and then used to forecast waves with lead times varying from 3 to 24 h. The results of different training algorithms are compared with each other. The neural output is further compared with the statistical AR models.