Summarising wave data for the purpose of operational planning on coastlines

Abstract

The trends within various coastal hydrodynamic data sets were investigated with the aim of providing a general methodology to gather, condense and store useful wave statistics using data collected on the eastern coast of Trinidad, an island located in the Caribbean region. The lack of local comprehensive long-term data sets necessitates the use of short- to medium-term data in order to establish probabilistic descriptions to be used in long-term modelling, planning and hazard assessment exercises. While the paucity of data at certain locations initially stimulated the investigation of monthly and quarterly trends, as well as near-shore and off-shore differences of the wave parameters, it also identified a method to reduce large data sets while retaining the critical wave characteristics. The summarised data sets can be more readily used for planning and decision making, but can also be used for application to advanced scientific tools for further investigation. General methodologies for analysing the short- to medium-term data were established in order to derive basic statistical parameters, deduce persistence statistics, assess multi-modality and subsequently generate a generic wave height probability density function for the coastal location.