Directional Wind Wave Characteristics at Harvest Platform.
Abstract
Long-term observations of well-resolved, deep-ocean, wind wave frequency-direction energy spectra are essential for advancing knowledge in ocean surface dynamics. This knowledge is required for such things as providing ground truth to help interpret satellite imagery of the ocean surface, testing evolution and propagation models of open-ocean wind waves, and establishing seaward boundary conditions for models of wave propagation and transformation from deep water to coastal regions. The latter problem is of considerable interest in coastal engineering because wind waves generated offshore are among the dominant forcing mechanisms for coastal dynamic processes. This problem is particularly pronounced in the region of the Southern California Bight where waves generated in the deep ocean must propagate past a number of offshore islands to reach the coast. Refractive, diffractive, and dissipative effects of the bathymetry around the islands have strong local effects on the amount of wave energy reaching the shore, and these effects are quite sensitive to the directions of incident wave propagation. To gain insight into the nature of directionally distributed wind wave energy from the open ocean in the vicinity of the Southern California Bight, a high-resolution directional wave gauge has been installed on a deepwater oil production platform near the north end of the bight. (MM)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA295772
Entities
People
- Charles E. Long
Organizations
- Coastal Engineering Research Center