Spatially Tracking Wave Events in Partitioned Numerical Wave Model Outputs

Numerical wave models can output partitioned wave parameters at each grid point using a spectral partitioning technique. Because these wave partitions are usually organized according to the magnitude of their wave energy without considering the coherence of wave parameters in space, it can be diffic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology 2019-10, Vol.36 (10), p.1933-1944
Main Author: Jiang, Haoyu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Data analysis
Data assimilation
Data collection
Datasets
Mathematical models
Ocean waves
Parameters
Partitions
Spatial distribution
Surface water waves
Time series
Tracking
Wave analysis
Wave data
Wave energy
Wave models
Wave parameters
Wave power
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Summary:Numerical wave models can output partitioned wave parameters at each grid point using a spectral partitioning technique. Because these wave partitions are usually organized according to the magnitude of their wave energy without considering the coherence of wave parameters in space, it can be difficult to observe the spatial distributions of wave field features from these outputs. In this study, an approach for spatially tracking coherent wave events (which means a cluster of partitions originating from the same meteorological event) from partitioned numerical wave model outputs is presented to solve this problem. First, an efficient traverse algorithm applicable for different types of grids, termed breadth-first search, is employed to track wave events using the continuity of wave parameters. Second, to reduce the impact of the garden sprinkler effect on tracking, tracked wave events are merged if their boundary outlines and wave parameters on these boundaries are both in good agreement. Partitioned wave information from the Integrated Ocean Waves for Geophysical and other Applications dataset is used to test the performance of this spatial tracking approach. The test results indicate that this approach is able to capture the primary features of partitioned wave fields, demonstrating its potential for wave data analysis, model verification, and data assimilation.
ISSN:0739-0572
1520-0426
DOI:10.1175/JTECH-D-18-0228.1