The extreme waves in Kuwaiti territorial waters using measured data

Abstract

The extreme significant sea wave height, swell wave height and total wave height were determined for return periods of 10, 25, 50, and 100 years for seven stations in Kuwaiti territorial waters based on measured data. The measured wave data was obtained from Kuwait Meteorological Department of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The extreme wave analysis was carried out using Gumbel and Weibull distribution methods. It was noticed that the Weibull distribution is a better fit to the measured wave heights in Kuwaiti territorial waters. The result of the extreme significant sea wave height for 100-year return period ranges between 3.24 and 3.99 m, while there is a large variation in the extreme significant swell wave height, which ranges between 2.31 and 4.55 m. Furthermore, the extreme significant total wave height varies from 3.37 to 4.25 m among these seven stations in Kuwaiti waters. The comparison between the present study and the prediction of the extreme wave heights based on hindcasted data by Neelamani et al. (2007) shows closer correlation of the results, except for the North West part, where there are some noticeable differences in the results. The present study is important for optimal design of marine structures and coastal infrastructure development of Kuwaiti islands.