Analysis of the North Atlantic offshore energy flux from different reanalysis and hindcasts

Abstract

To date there is a wide range of wave reanalysis and hindcasts available to the scientific and engineering community which are commonly used for different applications, including downscaling or the estimation of the wave energy resource. These long datasets have been created using different combinations of forcing fields, physical parameterizations, and numerical choices (like spatial and spectral resolution). All these elements have a direct effect on the accuracy of the wave models’ output and thus, they are one of the main reasons for the differences between these products. In the present study we analyze the significant wave heights and peak periods characteristics from a selection of global datasets. We additionally include results from a hindcast created using the WAVEWATCH III model, with adjustments specially aimed to reduce uncertainties of the wave energy resource along the Atlantic coasts of Europe. Models’ output is compared with buoys and altimeter data from the latest ESA (European Space Agency) CCI Sea State V3 product. Preliminary validation of the hindcast we have generated for the North Atlantic already show an important bias reduction for wave heights in the 2.5 to 11.5 range compared to ERA5 wave product. Using the relevant wave parameters, we estimate the power density and quantify the differences between databases. Then, based on scatter diagrams obtained from the joint distributions of significant wave height and peak period, the differences in the power captured by a point absorber wave energy converter (WEC) related to different wave data sources will be quantified.