Abstract
In shallow waters the wave height distribution significantly differs from Rayleigh distribution during extreme wind
 conditions. The EurOtop manual (Pullen et al. 2007) recommends the use of a composite Rayleigh-Weibull distribution proposed by Battjes and Groenendijk (2000) in order to describe the wave statistics in shallow waters. A test of this recommendation by using wave measurements with continuously operated radar level gauges at three different sites at the German North Sea coast for comparison revealed the necessity for a change in the parameterization given in the EurOtop manual.
 
 
 References
 
 Barjenbruch, U., S. Mai, N. Ohle, and U. Mertinatis. 2002. Monitoring Water Level, Waves and Ice with Radar Gauges, Proceedings of the Hydro 2002 Conference, DHyG, 328-337.
 
 Barjenbruch, U., and J. Wilhelmi. 2008. Application of radar gauges to measure the water level and the sea state, Proceedings of 31st International Conference on Coastal Engineering, ASCE, 687-695.
 
 Battjes, J.A., and H.W. Groenendijk. 2000. Wave height distributions on shallow foreshores, Coastal Engineering, 40, 161-182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-3839(00)00007-7
 
 Burcharth, H.F., P. Frigaard, J. Uzcanga, J.M. Berenguer, B.G. Madrigal, and J. Villanueva. 1996. Design of the Ciervana breakwater, Bilbao, Advances in coastal structures and breakwaters, Thomas Telford, London, 26-43.
 
 Forristall, G. 2008. Offshore LNG terminal designs must overcome complications of shallow water, Oil & Gas Journal, 106(43).
 
 IAHR Working Group on Wave Generation and Analysis. 1989. List of Sea-State Parameters, Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering, 115(6), pp. 793-80 http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-950X(1989)115:6(793)
 
 Klopman, G., and M.J.F. Stive. 1989. Extreme waves and wave loading in shallow water, Proceedings of E&P Forum Workshop: Wave and current kinematics and loading, Paris, Oct. 25-26.
 
 Longuet-Higgins, M. S. 1952. On the Statistical Distribution of the Heights of Sea Waves. Journal of Marine Research, 11(3), 245-266.
 
 Mai, S. 2008. Statistics of Waves in the Estuaries of the Rivers Ems and Weser - Measurement vs. Numerical Wave Model, Proceedings of the 7th Int. Conf. on Coastal and Port Engineering in Developing Countries COPEDEC, CD-ROM.
 
 Nelson, R.C. 1994. Depth limited design wave heights in very flat regions, Coastal Engineering, 23, 43-59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0378-3839(94)90014-0
 
 Pullen, T., N.W.H. Allsop, T. Bruce, A. Kortenhaus, H. Schuttrumpf, and J.W. van der Meer. 2007. EurOtop - Wave Overtopping of Sea Defences and Related Structures: Assessment Manual, Die Kuste, 73, 193 pp. (online:
Highlights
The design of offshore or coastal structures, like offshore wind farms or breakwaters, is generally taking reference to the maximum wave height to be expected during storms
In shallow water the distribution significantly differs from the Rayleigh type (Klopman and Stive, 1989, Nelson, 1994, Burchardt et al, 1996, Battjes and Groenendijk, 2000), the Rayleigh distribution is still widely used in designing structures in shallow waters, what leads to oversized and excessively costly structures
The wave height distribution calculated with Battjes-Groenendijk approach using the original parameter set of Battjes and Groenendijk (2000) underestimates the probability of high waves
Summary
The design of offshore or coastal structures, like offshore wind farms or breakwaters, is generally taking reference to the maximum wave height to be expected during storms. The operation of the wave sensors is ongoing since August 2002 at the gauge Borkum, since September 2006 at the lighthouse “Alte Weser” and since February 2008 at the research platform FINO 1. 1 hour intervals fulfilling the shallow water condition Hmax/d > 0.35 were selected for further analysis of the wave height distribution (see Fig. 5).
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