Projections of Directional Spectra Help to Unravel the Future Behavior of Wind Waves

Based on a novel approach, present-day and future spectral wind-wave conditions in a high-emission scenario from a seven-member wave climate projection ensemble are compared. The spectral analysis at the selected locations aids in understanding the propagation of swell projected changes from the gen...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in Marine Science
Main Authors: Lobeto, Hector, Menendez, Melisa, Losada, Iñigo J.
Other Authors: Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Frontiers Media SA 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.655490
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.655490/full
Description
Summary:Based on a novel approach, present-day and future spectral wind-wave conditions in a high-emission scenario from a seven-member wave climate projection ensemble are compared. The spectral analysis at the selected locations aids in understanding the propagation of swell projected changes from the generation areas across the ocean basins. For example, a projected increase in the energy from Southern Ocean swells can be observed in all ocean basins and both hemispheres, which is especially relevant in the west coast of North America due to the penetration of these swells beyond 30°N. Similarly, a consistent decrease in the energy of large northern Atlantic swells is noted close to the equator. This work provides evidence that assessments based on only integrated wave parameters (e.g., significant wave height and mean wave period) can mask information about the sign, magnitude, and robustness of the actual wave climate changes due to the offset of positive and negative variations within the spectrum, leading to a significant underestimation of the change associated with certain wave systems.