A note on nearshore wave features: Implications for wave generation

This paper analyses 10 years of wave data from the Mediterranean Spanish (Catalan) coast considering the mean wave climate and storm events from the standpoint of wind-wave momentum transfer and wave prediction. The data, registered by a buoy at about 12 km from the coastline, revealed two main groups of wave storms, with NW and E directions. NW storms correspond to a fetch-limited situation since the intense wind blows from land. Low-pressure centres located over the Mediterranean Sea produce easterly storms. Near the coast the eastern winds from the sea are replaced by NW winds coming from meteorological patterns over northern Spain and south-western France. Wave storms are classified and studied to obtain their main features (including spectral width, wave length, wave age and bimodality) and discussed in terms of wind-wave momentum transfer for operational wave predictions. Observations show a complex coastal wave climate. Fetch-limited storms presented smaller spectral widths while varying wind situations presented larger widths due to the presence of bimodal spectra. These wave features are highly relevant for wind–ocean momentum transfer and, thus, for current and wave predictions. The spectral width proved to be a good indicator of sea complexity and is thus applicable for improved wind drag estimations. A new drag coefficient formulation is proposed, based on existing wind dependent drag expressions, but including also spectral wave properties (a spectral width parameter) that highlights the characteristics of wind-wave generation under pre-existing swell. Such a formulation, once properly validated with field observations, is expected to improve wind-wave predictions.