Variations in global wave climate throughout the year

Abstract

The feasibility of analysing and presenting global wave climate by fitting annual and semi-annual harmonics to monthly mean values of significant wave height in 2° x 2° bins is investigated using one year's data from Geosat (November 1986 to November 1987). Stringent checks on the data result in 16 percent being discarded. Nevertheless, the analysis is found to give a generally coherent and realistic picture. The annual component dominates in most areas, but in places the semi-annual harmonic is significant, either by itself or in conjunction with the annual cycle.