Numerical wave modelling with WAVEWATCH III: numerics and parameterizations for the coastal ocean

Abstract:

The development of numerical wave models for coastal applications, including coupling with ocean circulation models, has spurred an on-going effort on theoretical foundations, numerical techniques and physical parameterizations. Some important aspects of this effort are reviewed here, and results are shown in different settings including the French Atlantic, Hawaii and U.S. West Coast, using version 4.18 of the WAVEWATCH III^® modelling framework. Compared to previous results, the model errors have been strongly reduced thanks to, among other things, the introduction of currents, coastal reflection,
and bottom sediment types. This last item allowed unprecedented accuracy at some sites along the French Atlantic coast. The adequate resolution, necessary to represent strong gradients in tidal currents,
was made possible by the efficiency brought by unstructured grids. A further increase in resolution, necessary to resolve surf zones and still cover vast regions is now made possible by the use of implicit schemes. First results with that scheme are presented here and should be made available in a future version 5.xx of WAVEWATCH III.