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Sea state observation in island-sheltered nearshore zone based on in situ intermediate-water wave measurements and NCEP/CFSR wind data

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Abstract

In this study, wind-seas, swells, and the coastal wind pattern are examined to interpret the temporal diversity of the sea state in the island-sheltered nearshore zone off Karwar on the west coast of India. The sea state is analyzed based on the sea swell energy ratio (SSER) criteria and inverse wave age (IWA) criteria. The SSER is estimated following a one dimensional spectral split of in situ intermediate-water waves measured by deploying a directional waverider buoy. The IWA is estimated based on the measured waves and the National Centres for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) wind data followed by validation with the autonomous weather station (AWS) wind data. Additionally, wave transformation in and around offshore islands is examined using the wind wave model SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore). The NCEP/CFSR wind data exhibited sea breezes as well as land breezes, and also revealed good correlation to the AWS wind data during sea breeze events. Observation revealed that the SSER criteria is more practical than the IWA criteria for interpreting the sea state in the nearshore zone, where the diversity of the sea states depend significantly on the variation of coexisting wind-seas and swell proportions. The SWAN model revealed that wave propagation and transformation in the island-sheltered nearshore zone is influenced considerably by the direction of the offshore waves to the associated island(s), where the simulated wave characteristics in the SWAN model are found more reliable based on the parametric boundary condition. Further, the study revealed that modeling is a necessary task apart from a single point observation to understand surface wave propagation and transformation in an island-sheltered nearshore zone.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management Project Directorate (ICMAM PD), Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi, for partially funding the measurement program and the Director, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, and Project Director, ICMAM PD, Chennai, for the encouragement provided to carry out the study. We thank Mr. Jai Singh, Mr. P. Pednekar, Mr. G. N. Naik, Mr. M. Mochemadkar, C.S. Philip, and J. Glejin for the help provided during the measurement and analysis. The AWS data was provided by Mr. Prakash Mehra, Principal scientist, NIO, Goa. The first author acknowledges the CSIR for the financial support as senior research fellowship (SRF). This is NIO contribution 5712.

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  1. Ocean Engineering, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research), Dona Paula, Goa, 403004, India

    G. Udhaba Dora & V. Sanil Kumar

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  1. G. Udhaba Dora
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  2. V. Sanil Kumar
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Correspondence to V. Sanil Kumar.

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Dora, G.U., Kumar, V.S. Sea state observation in island-sheltered nearshore zone based on in situ intermediate-water wave measurements and NCEP/CFSR wind data. Ocean Dynamics 65, 647–663 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-015-0822-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-015-0822-1

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