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On the developments of spectral wave models: numerics and parameterizations for the coastal ocean

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Abstract

The development of numerical wave models for coastal applications, including coupling with ocean circulation models, has spurred an ongoing effort on theoretical foundations, numerical techniques, and physical parameterizations. Some important aspects of this effort are reviewed here, and results are shown in the case of the French Atlantic and Channel coast using version 4.18 of the WAVEWATCH III R model. Compared to previous results, the model errors have been strongly reduced thanks to, among other things, the introduction of currents, coastal reflection, and bottom sediment types. This last item is described here for the first time, allowing unprecedented accuracy at some sites along the French Atlantic Coast. The adequate resolution, necessary to represent strong gradients in tidal currents, was made possible by the efficiency brought by unstructured grids. A further increase in resolution, necessary to resolve surf zones and still cover vast regions,will require further developments in numerical methods.

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Acknowledgments

This work was made possible by the help and dedication of many, including J. Lepesqueur who generated the bottom type files and performed the initial simulations with variable roughness. All altimeter data processed by P. Queffeulou was kindly provided by CNES, ESA, and NOAA. We thank CETMEF, CEFAS, and SHOM for providing the buoy data and the organizers of Coastal Dynamics 2013 for soliciting this contribution. A.R. is funded by SHOM; F.A. is funded by ERC grant #240009 “IOWAGA” with additional support from the US National Ocean Partnership Program, under grant N00014-10-1-0383 and Labex Mer via grant ANR-10-LABX-19-01. A. Sepulveda kindly gave feedback on the manuscript draft.

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  1. Institut für Wasserbau und Wasserwirtschaft, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany

    Aron Roland

  2. Laboratoire d’Oceanographie Spatiale, Ifremer, Plouzan, France

    Fabrice Ardhuin

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  1. Aron Roland
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Correspondence to Fabrice Ardhuin.

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Responsible Editor: Bruno Castelle

This article is part of the Topical Collection on the 7th International Conference on Coastal Dynamics in Arcachon, France 24–28 June 2013

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Roland, A., Ardhuin, F. On the developments of spectral wave models: numerics and parameterizations for the coastal ocean. Ocean Dynamics 64, 833–846 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-014-0711-z

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