Wind-wave characteristics in the coastal area between Damietta and Port Said, Egypt

Abstract

This study attempts to investigate the wind-wave characteristics in the region between Damietta and Port Said from 2011 to 2020 using the ERA5 data set for the considered area. Fourteen stations were used for data collection to represent the study area. The ERA5 data were compared with measured wave data from a directional wave buoy from February 1999 to February 2000. The following error statistics were obtained: bias = - 0.014 m and RMSE = 0.3 m. The ERA5 data were then used to create seasonal maps to simulate wind speed and direction, significant wave height (Hs), wave direction, and wave period. Results showed that the annual average Hs was 0.42 m, and the annual mean wind speed was 5.13 m/s. According to the Mann-Kendall test, the average Hs exhibited increasing trends of 0.0014 m/year and 0.0024 m/year with 70–80 % significance levels, respectively, in winter and autumn. In the spring, the Hs trend was 0.0013 m/year with an 80–90 % significance. During summer, this trend decreased to −0.00037 m/year, with a 70–80 % significance level. The average wind speed had increasing trends in winter, spring, and autumn of 0.009 m/s/year and 0.016 m/s/year with a 70–80 % level of significance and 0.0026 m/s/year with 80–90 % significance level, respectively. Meanwhile, the summer average wind speed showed a weak, insignificant trend of increase of as low as 0.0001 m/s/year. The study recommends using simulated wave characteristics to fill the gap in wave data along the Southeastern Mediterranean coast and using the southeast zone of the study area for economic activities.