One year validation of wave forecasting at Galician coast

Abstract

A wave forecasting system based on the third generation model WAVEWATCH III was developed by MeteoGalicia (Regional Meteorological Office of Galicia). During 2005 two implementations of the wave forecasting system were operational, running daily to perform a wave forecast at different scales for the next 96 h. In the initial implementation, wave generation was calculated using the global NCEP/NOAA (National Center for Environmental Prediction) GFS (Global Forecast System) and MeteoGalicia ARPS (Advanced Regional Prediction System) 10-m wind forcing as input. New improvements to this system were introduced in spring 2005 using only GFS wind forcing. The influence on wave forecasting of these two different wind inputs is analysed in detail and results are compared with one year field data from the Puertos del Estado-Clima Maritimo (PE-CM) deep water buoys network.