Abnormal Wind Waves in the Arctic: Probability of Occurrence and Spatial Distribution

• Published in: Russian Meteorology and Hydrology
• Main Authors: Kudryavtsev, V. N., Zabolotskikh, E. V., Chapron, Bertrand
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2019
• Subjects: [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Arctic; Barents Sea; Norwegian Sea
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04202317; https://doi.org/10.3103/S106837391904006X

International audience The estimates of the height and length of surface waves generated by polar lows in the Barents Sea and in the eastern Norwegian Sea are presented. The calculations are based on the parametric model of wave generation by a moving cyclone [9]. The simulations of wave fields are performed for the spatiotemporal characteristics of polar lows provided in [14]. The highest amplitude waves are generated in the right sector of the moving polar low, and if the condition of the group resonance is met, the wave height and wavelength become abnormally high. It is shown that a significant part of polar lows satisfy the resonance condition, thus, the account of their movement is required to estimate the height of generated waves. The model simulations revealed that the frequency of occurrence of waves with the height of >4 m is 3-5 events per year, the frequency of occurrence of waves with the height of 8 m is one event per year, and the number of cases with the wave height of >12 and >15 m is one-two per 10 and 20 years, respectively.