International Journal of Oceans and Oceanography

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WAM Validation Studies in the North Indian Ocean using NCMRWF Analyzed Wind Fields


Affiliations
1 Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Thrikkakara, Cochin-682 021, India
2 DHI-NTU Research Centre, DHI Water and Environment, 200, Pandan Loop, Pantech-21, Singapore-128388, Singapore
3 Centre for Advanced Training in Earth System Sciences and Climate (CAT-ESSC), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune-411008, India
4 Department of Marine Science, Berhampur University, Berhampur-7, India
5 Department of Physical Oceanography, Cochin University of Science & Technology (CUSAT), Kochi-682 016, India
     

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With the launch of Oceansat-I (IRS-P4), it became a reality to carry out validations of third generation wave model 3g-WAM in the North Indian Ocean region using the IRS-P4 analyzed wind fields provided by the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), New Delhi, India. However, the model predicted wave fields were to be still analyzed and further validated using all available field measurements which was the primary task before the scientific community. This study, describes the wave model validation studies carried out at Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Cochin, India through a collaborative research programme between NPOL and Space Application Centre (SAC), as part of the IRS-P4, MSMR Utilization Programme. Under this collaborative programme, 3g-WAM wave hindcasts were carried out for the Indian Ocean from 30°E to 120°E and 30°S to 30°N using the analyzed winds of NCMRWF and appropriate open sea boundary inputs. WAM was executed using six hourly input fields over 1.5°x1.5° grid resolution. The outputs of the model such as wave height, peak wave period, mean wave period and mean wave directions were compared with the time-series buoy measurements of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, India and other available measurements. Comparisons between the predicted and observed wave parameters were very encouraging. However, the model predictions of significant wave height were overestimated during the extreme wind and wave conditions. By and large, the WAM predictions were quite reliable for the south-west monsoon (May-September) periods in spite of the limitations. These validation studies have revealed that, the performance of WAM was satisfactory and the hindcast wave fields of WAM for the North Indian Ocean can be utilized for various user applications in the deep waters over 30 meters.

Keywords

OCEANSAT I, WAM, IRS-P4 Analyzed Winds, Wave Model Validation.
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  • WAM Validation Studies in the North Indian Ocean using NCMRWF Analyzed Wind Fields

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Authors

J. Swain
Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Thrikkakara, Cochin-682 021, India
J. K. Panigrahi
DHI-NTU Research Centre, DHI Water and Environment, 200, Pandan Loop, Pantech-21, Singapore-128388, Singapore
P. A. Umesh
Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Thrikkakara, Cochin-682 021, India
M. Baba
Centre for Advanced Training in Earth System Sciences and Climate (CAT-ESSC), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune-411008, India
A. S. N. Murty
Department of Marine Science, Berhampur University, Berhampur-7, India
A. N. Balchand
Department of Physical Oceanography, Cochin University of Science & Technology (CUSAT), Kochi-682 016, India

Abstract


With the launch of Oceansat-I (IRS-P4), it became a reality to carry out validations of third generation wave model 3g-WAM in the North Indian Ocean region using the IRS-P4 analyzed wind fields provided by the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), New Delhi, India. However, the model predicted wave fields were to be still analyzed and further validated using all available field measurements which was the primary task before the scientific community. This study, describes the wave model validation studies carried out at Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Cochin, India through a collaborative research programme between NPOL and Space Application Centre (SAC), as part of the IRS-P4, MSMR Utilization Programme. Under this collaborative programme, 3g-WAM wave hindcasts were carried out for the Indian Ocean from 30°E to 120°E and 30°S to 30°N using the analyzed winds of NCMRWF and appropriate open sea boundary inputs. WAM was executed using six hourly input fields over 1.5°x1.5° grid resolution. The outputs of the model such as wave height, peak wave period, mean wave period and mean wave directions were compared with the time-series buoy measurements of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, India and other available measurements. Comparisons between the predicted and observed wave parameters were very encouraging. However, the model predictions of significant wave height were overestimated during the extreme wind and wave conditions. By and large, the WAM predictions were quite reliable for the south-west monsoon (May-September) periods in spite of the limitations. These validation studies have revealed that, the performance of WAM was satisfactory and the hindcast wave fields of WAM for the North Indian Ocean can be utilized for various user applications in the deep waters over 30 meters.

Keywords


OCEANSAT I, WAM, IRS-P4 Analyzed Winds, Wave Model Validation.

References