NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Analysis and prediction of ocean swell using instrumented buoysDuring the period 20-23 September 1990, the remnants of Supertyphoon Flo moved into the central North Pacific Ocean with sustained wind speeds of 28 m/s. The strong wind and large fetch area associated with this storm generated long-period swell that propagated to the west coast of North America. National Data Buoy Center moored-buoy stations, located in a network that ranged from the Gulf of Alaska to the California Bight, provided wave spectral estimates of the swell from this storm. The greatest dominant wave periods measured were approximately 20-25 s, and significant wave heights measured ranged from 3 to 8 m. Wave spectra from an array of three nondirectional buoys are used to find the source of the long-period swell. Directional wave spectra from a heave-pitch-roll buoy are also used to make an independent estimate of the source of the swell. The ridge-line method, using time-frequency contour plots of wave spectral energy density, is used to determine the time of swell generation, which is used with the appropriate surface pressure analysis to infer the swell generation area. The diagnosed sources of the swell are also compared with nowcasts from the Global Spectral Ocean Wave Model of the Fleet Numerical Oceanography Center. A simple method of predicting the propagation of ocean swell, by applying a simple kinematic model of wave propagation to the estimated point and time source, is demonstrated.
Document ID
19950030498
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Mettlach, Theodore
(NASA Stennis Space Center Stennis Space Center, MS, United States)
Wang, David
(NASA Stennis Space Center Stennis Space Center, MS, United States)
Wittmann, Paul
(Fleet Numerical Oceanography Center Monterey, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology
Volume: 11
Issue: 2, pt
ISSN: 0739-0572
Subject Category
Oceanography
Accession Number
95A62097
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available