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Wave height characteristics in the Mediterranean Sea by means of numerical modeling, satellite data, statistical and geometrical techniques

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Abstract

In this paper the main wave height characteristics in the Mediterranean Sea are studied from both observational and numerical perspectives. The numerical wave model WAM is employed on a high spatial resolution mode and in two different versions, one of which incorporates information for sea surface currents. Altimeter data obtained from all available satellite missions over the area are also utilized. The data sets are analyzed both by conventional statistical measures as well as by advanced techniques provided by a relatively new branch of mathematics, information geometry, in the framework of which the data under study and the distributions that they form are treated as elements of non Euclidean spaces. In this framework, novel ideas for the estimation of the deviations between the observed and modeled values are proposed.

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  1. http://www.mg.uoa.gr/

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Acknowledgment

This work was partially supported by the MARINA project (7th Framework Programme, Grant agreement number: 241402, http://www.marina-platform.info/), the E-wave project (funded by the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus, http://www.oceanography.ucy.ac.cy/ewave/) and the MyOcean project (European Marine Core Service, EU FP7, http://www.myocean.eu.org/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Mathematics, Hellenic Naval Academy, Xatzikyriakion, 18539, Piraeus, Greece

    George Galanis

  2. Department of Physics, Atmospheric Modeling and Weather Forecasting Group, University of Athens, University Campus, Bldg. PHYS-V, 15784, Athens, Greece

    George Galanis & George Kallos

  3. Oceanography Centre, University of Cyprus, 1678, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Dan Hayes & George Zodiatis

  4. Department of Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School, Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science, Monterey, CA, 93943, USA

    Peter C. Chu & Yu-Heng Kuo

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  1. George Galanis
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  2. Dan Hayes
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  3. George Zodiatis
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  4. Peter C. Chu
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  5. Yu-Heng Kuo
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  6. George Kallos
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Correspondence to George Galanis.

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Galanis, G., Hayes, D., Zodiatis, G. et al. Wave height characteristics in the Mediterranean Sea by means of numerical modeling, satellite data, statistical and geometrical techniques. Mar Geophys Res 33, 1–15 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9142-0

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