Cold- and Warm-Season Extreme Wave Climatology at Buoy Stations off the U.S. East, Gulf, and West Coasts.

Abstract:

Extreme ocean waves have an integral role in the blue economy. Extreme waves impact the safety of coastal and offshore structures, ship design and navigation, coastal morphology and ecosystem, and wave energy harvesting. Extreme wave characteristics seasonally vary across the ocean basins, as extreme waves are dominantly generated by significant extratropical cyclones during cold seasons and tropical cyclones during warm seasons. The goal of this study is to quantify, compare, and contrast the intensity, frequency, and duration of cold- and warm-season extreme wave events using wave measurements at buoy stations off the U.S. East, Gulf, and West Coasts. We define the cold season as the time between December and May and the warm season between July and November. Hourly time series of significant wave height from 43 buoy stations are analyzed to identify independent extreme wave events and their frequency and duration. Using regression models, we quantify trends in the intensity, duration and frequency of extreme wave events. The extreme value theory is used to estimate the intensity and duration of extreme wave events of different return periods. We will present and discuss the estimated return periods and the detected trends and changes in the intensity, duration and frequency of extreme wave events in the cold and warm seasons.