Wave Spectral Evolution On The Coastlines OfSouthern Italy

Abstract

The objective of the present study is the transfer of given sea wave spectra on deep water and the simulation of the wave spectral saturation from deep to intermediate water. The deep water spectra recorded offshore the coastlines of Southern Italy were transferred to the Gulfs of Naples and Salerno, where they were compared with wave spectra recorded by the Institute of Meteorology and Oceanography and waves recorded by the Naples Hydrographic Service, respectively. The JONSWAP parameters were calculated from the measured spectral density and related with the nondimensional fetch, energy and peak frequency through a regression in log scale, obtaining a satisfactory agreement with the published results. The relationships between the spectral parameters and the nondimensional fetch gave the possibility to transfer the wind wave spectra from the measurement sites to the sites of interest, offshore the Gulf of Naples and Salerno. The spectral transfer was extended to intermediate depth through mathematical models which take into account the saturation process. Finally the waves and the spectra obtained inshore were compared with the local wave records on the coastline of Salerno.