Estimates of wave height data for New Zealand waters by numerical modelling

Abstract

A procedure has been developed for estimating the wave climate in New Zealand waters. The key elements are the specification of surface wind fields and the diagnosis of wave conditions using a numerical wave model. Wave data have been generated for a period in 1989 and the deduced significant wave heights have been analysed. The distributions at a number of selected sites indicate wave features consistent with existing knowledge of the longer‐term wave climate—despite differences between wind characteristics for this season and the longer‐term norm as derived from ship observations. The wave‐fields were partitioned into wind‐sea and swell components and the probability distributions for each feature were also found to be consistent with longer‐term studies.

Keywords:

• wave climate
• wave modelling
• hindcast
• wave height
• climate change