Wave setup at Tristan da Cunha

Abstract

Wave setup was investigated using data from tide gauges in a small harbour at the island of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. Frequent examples of wave setup were found during the period 1986–1992, but were much less apparent after 1992, following extensions to the two breakwater arms of the harbour. The unambiguous association of wave setup with the several-decimetre spikes in Tristan sea level, which can persist for a day or so, are a warning that signals related to wave setup could also occur in other tide gauge records, where the wave setup signal could perhaps be misinterpreted as wind setup within the overall storm surge. One conclusion is that, in spite of the difficulties of access to Tristan da Cunha and its ever-present hostile wave climate, the island is undoubtedly now worthy of a permanent tide-gauge installation, which would be an important contribution to the global sea-level network.

Keywords:

• breakwater
• bottom pressure
• high-frequency sea-level variability
• sea and land level monitoring
• tide gauge measurements
• wind setup
• South Atlantic