Aspectos gerais sobre padrão de ondas superficiais de gravidade e validação de reanálises numéricas no litoral brasileiro

Abstract

The knowledge of the pattern of gravity surface waves generated by the wind is fundamental for various activities along the Brazilian coast, and observed data are still scarce. This work utilizes observed data from buoys of the Brazilian Navy’s National Buoy Program (PNBOIA) to characterize the pattern of waves and winds in Brazil. We also looked at three global wave analyses to find out which model works best for predicting wave conditions along the Brazilian coast: the Multigrid Hindcast (NOAA/NCEP), WW3-ST6 (University of Melbourne), and WAVERYS (Mercator). Different atmospheric factors and far-off weather events like extratropical cyclones affect how waves form. The quality of the reanalyses in predicting extreme rogue wave events with percentiles above 95% is also investigated. We noticed waves of different sizes and directions along the coast, showing that the sea has two main wave patterns in all regions. In general, WAVERYS exhibited a more satisfactory accuracy for forecasting of Significant Wave Height (Hs) and Peak Period (Tp). It was observed that, generally, numerical wave models tend to make more errors under swell conditions, varying for each coastal region and typically underestimating wave heights. This study provides interesting results and contributes to a better understanding of the limitations of global wave reanalyses for the Brazilian coast.