Operational wave forecasting system for the Portuguese coast

Abstract

In order to predict the wave conditions for the Portuguese Coast, a wave hindcast system as been implemented at the Instituto Hidrográfico. This system is based on two third-generation, phase-average models, WaveWatch III and SWAN. The WaveWatch III simulations are divided in two separated areas, the North Atlantic area and the South Atlantic area. The results obtain from this simulations are used as boundary conditions for the SWAN simulations. This nearshore prediction system is based in the nesting methodology, allowing us to improve the spatial resolutions of smaller areas, which have as input the conditions obtained from the previous simulation. The nearshore simulations are divided in eight different areas, which cover the entire coast of Portugal and the Madeira Archipelago. The results are presented daily in the Institute’s web page and allow, beyond other possibilities, the spectral analysis of the incident wave for several points along the shore. A monthly comparison to the measurements of the wave buoys located nearshore is performed, in order to validate the model