Discrete wavelet neural network approach in significant wave height forecasting for multistep lead time

Abstract

Recently Artificial Neural network (ANN) was extensively used as non-linear inter-extrapolator for ocean wave forecasting as well as other application in ocean engineering. In this current study, the Wavelet transform was hybridised with ANN naming Wavelet Neural Network (WLNN) for significant wave height forecasting near Mangalore, west coast of India, upto 48h lead time. The main time series of significant wave height data were decomposed to multiresolution time series using discrete wavelet transformations. Then, the multiresolution time series data were used as input of the ANN to forecast the significant wave height at different multistep lead time. It was shown how the proposed model, WLNN, that makes use of multiresolution time series as input, allows for more accurate and consistent predictions with respect to classical ANN models. The proposed wavelet model (WLNN) results revealed that it was better forecasted and consistent than single ANN model because of using multiresolution time series data as inputs.