Wave data analysis in the Delaware Bay

The knowledge of wave statistics in the Delaware Bay impacts not only large container ships bound for the ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington, but also recreational boaters, fishermen, beach-goers, near-shore planning, emergency response, and more. Wave characteristics can be measured by a large number of technologies such as acoustic transducers, pressure sensor arrays, and shore-based radar, however wave buoys often present the most straightforward measurement system. In an effort to quantify the wave conditions in the Delaware Bay, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has deployed two TRIAXYS directional wave buoys, one in the upper and one in the lower reaches of the Delaware Bay, over a time period spanning from June 2007 through February 2012. These buoys recorded directional wave characteristics on an hourly basis and, when combined with nearby Delaware Environmental Observing System (DEOS) meteorological station data, resulted in a variety of data products. This paper presents an overview of the buoy deployment project and a discussion of the results obtained by a statistical analysis performed on the available data over the observational time periods.