Wave spectral shapes in the coastal waters based on measured data off Karwar, west coast of India

Abstract

Abstract. Understanding of the wave spectral shapes is of primary importance for the design of marine facilities. In this paper, the wave spectra collected from January 2011 to December 2015 in the coastal waters are examined to know the temporal variations in the wave spectral shape. For 31.15 % of the time, peak frequency is between 0.08 and 0.10 Hz and the significant wave height is also relatively high (~ 1.55 m) for waves in this class. The slope of the high-frequency tail of the monthly average wave spectra is high during the Indian summer monsoon period (June–September) compared to other months and it increases with increase in significant wave height. There is no much interannual variation in slope for swell dominated spectra during the monsoon, while in the non-monsoon period when wind-seas have much influence, the slope varies significantly. Since the high-frequency slope of the wave spectrum is within the range 3–4 during the monsoon period, Donelan spectrum shows better fit for the wave spectra in monsoon months compared to other months.