Evaluation of ocean surface waves along the coastal area of the Sea of
Okhotsk during winter
Abstract
Ocean surface waves tend to be attenuated on interaction with sea ice.
In this study, six sea ice models were implemented in the
third-generation wave model WAVEWATCH III (WW3) to estimate wave
attenuation by sea ice. The models were evaluated using buoy
observations in the coastal area of the Sea of Okhotsk (SO).
Additionally, the impact of sea ice on wave fields was demonstrated by
model experiments with and without the utilization of sea ice. As a
result, one of the empirical models strongly agrees with the buoy
observation. The simulation with sea ice drastically improved the bias
of wave fields in coastal areas compared to simulation without sea ice.
Moreover, the impact of sea ice reached more than 1 m (3 s) for the
monthly significant wave height (period). These results suggest that the
effect of sea ice on wave calculation is essential in the SO.