Wave Model Results Research Articles

Uncertainty Estimation in the Modeling of a Flood Wave Caused by a Dam Failure in a Hydropower System with Pumped Hydro Energy Storage

Future global sustainability depends heavily on the development of renewable energy. The object of this study is a system of two plants (Kaunas hydropower plant (HP) and Kruonis pumped-storage hydropower plant) and upper and lower reservoirs. A possible dam failure accident in such an important system can endanger the population of Kaunas City. The methodology for estimating dam-failure-induced flood wave uncertainty included scenarios of the upper reservoir embankment failure hydrographs, modeling flood wave spreading (MIKE 21 hydrodynamic model), and estimating wave heights. The GRS methodology was selected to assess the uncertainty of flood wave modeling results and the sensitivity of hydrodynamic model parameters. The findings revealed that the discharge values of the Nemunas inflow and outflow through the HP outlets are the most important parameters determining the greatest height of the flood wave. Therefore, by correctly managing the amount of water in the upper reservoir, it would be possible to prevent the lower reservoir dam from breaking.

Improving the WAVEWATCH-III wave model results using data assimilation in the Persian Gulf

In this study, data assimilation with bulk and partitioned spectral parameters were integrated into the WAVEWATCH-III (WW3) wave model. The dependency of future forecasts on the current state in numerical models leads to an error flow in the results. Data assimilation schemes, such as the optimum interpolation, compensate for the problem by using available observations to minimize the error in the current state of the model. Different wind input and wave dissipation packages of WW3 were assessed for the Persian Gulf. The data assimilation scheme was integrated with the most successful formulation, ST3BJA. The enhanced WW3 model was assessed for two time periods in the Persian Gulf in which the wave data from three in-situ ADCPs were available. In addition, the satellite-derived wave height data within the computational domain were also used for model assessment. Assimilating the significant wave height data from in-situ measurements improved the model results in all cases and reduced the underestimation of significant wave height and improved the wave period statistics, significantly. The inclusion of mean wave period or use of partitioning the spectrum in the assimilation process resulted in spurious oscillations in the time series of peak wave period and significant wave height. Since the swells are not energetic in the Persian Gulf, the results from assimilation with partitioning spectrum scheme is not as successful as from assimilation scheme with the bulk parameters in reproducing accurate total wave height.

The 2015 exceptional swell in the Southern Pacific: Generation, advection, forecast and implied extremes

A very severe storm in the Antarctic belt is analysed that sent a very large swell throughout the South-Pacific Ocean. The reasons for the storm were a deep depression passing over an anomalous warm sea area, with consequent increased intensity, more active wind input, gustiness, with also dynamical generation. Wind and wave model results are verified with scatterometer and altimeter data. We follow the swell evolution during the five days required to reach the Galapagos Islands and a buoy off the Peruvian coast. The first forerunners peaked at 0.032 Hz at these locations, well represented in the model thanks to a purposely extended frequency range used in the WAM model. A nonlinear combined analysis is carried out to estimate the overall maximum single wave heights that may have impinged on the Galapagos coasts. Single wave heights up to 6 m have been estimated. Once generated, the swell conditions at Galapagos and the buoy are perfectly anticipated. Including generation, useful forecasts extend till at least eight days before the event. The lack of any local communication is discussed. An analysis using ERA5 winds, but a respectively higher resolution long-term wave hindcast, shows that a similar, actually stronger, event happened in 2006. A simple, but sound method, based on physical principles and elementary geometry, is proposed to estimate, firsthand and after any time, the maximum height of a once generated swell. The results for the 2015 storm are correct within 5% of the model values.

Asymmetric abundances of submarine sediment waves around the Azores volcanic islands

Sediment waves are common on the submarine flanks of volcanic islands, but the processes that form them are difficult to decipher from geophysical data alone. Here, we identify downslope-trending trains of sediment waves in multibeam sonar data from five islands of the Azores. Train abundances are derived by counting the train intersections with depth contours around each island, revealing that they are typically twice as common on the north slopes of the islands compared with their south slopes. To provide context, we also characterise the Holocene mobility of sediments on the shelves, ocean density structure (for evaluating internal wave critical gradients) and sediment lithologies in four cores from beneath the slopes, which contain shelf carbonates in some volcaniclastic turbidites. Holocene mobility is assessed using sidescan sonar data, which reveal shelf-crossing sand streams. Using results of a high-resolution wave model, wave-imposed shear stresses are found to have exceeded the stresses at threshold of motion for most of the modern shelf sediments during recent extreme wave conditions.Sediment waves could potentially arise from sedimentary flows, gravity mass movements (shallow slumping) or ocean internal waves. Sedimentary flow origins are favoured by streamwise changes of wavelengths and upslope bedform migrations suggested by seismic reflections. The asymmetry of abundances north and south of each island is also an important clue. For example, it is unlikely that systematically different sediment geotechnical properties occur on the two sides of the islands, hence no reason to expect greater mass movements on northern slopes. Internal waves originate mainly from the south and hence also do not explain the asymmetry. Primary volcaniclastic flows are likely to be equally important on both sides. Sedimentary flows originating from shelf sediment agitated during storms or from failed slope sediment appear to explain best the asymmetry. In that case, prevailing wind and waves approaching the islands from the northwest lead to more frequent sediment gravity flows because they lead to greater flux of sediment from coastal erosion towards northerly outer shelves and upper slopes, where it is prone to slope failure. Offshore-directed near-bed currents originating from northwesterly wind-driven surface currents also transport shelf sediment efficiently to the north, further aided by greater wave agitation on that side. The high abundances of wave trains on the north sides of the islands therefore favours origins involving sedimentary gravity flows associated with wind and wave effects.

Simulation of wave incident boundary for spatially inhomogeneous multidirectional irregular waves

Accurately simulating the incidence of the spatially inhomogeneous multidirectional irregular waves in numerical modeling of wave propagation on coastal areas is vitally important for engineering design. In this paper, the Inhomog-Bound-EEED, Inhomog-Bound-PTPD and Inhomog-Bound-DSFD approaches are established and their capabilities for simulating the inhomogeneous incident wave boundary are verified by the coupling of Boussinesq wave model with theoretical diffraction wave model and with SWAN wave model. The incident wave information of the Boussinesq wave model is simulated by the proposed methods based on the wave information provided by the wave diffraction or SWAN model. The simulated time series and significant wave heights by the Boussinesq wave model show good agreement with the results of the theoretical diffraction wave model, which verifies the validities of the proposed Inhomog-Bound-PTPD and Inhomog-Bound-DSFD approaches. The obvious consistency of the simulated results for the analyzed significant wave heights and directional distributions between the Boussinesq wave model and the theoretical diffraction wave model verifies the effectiveness of the Inhomog-Bound-DSFD method, and the method is further applied to the numerical coupling of the Boussinesq wave model and SWAN model. The proposed three methods have good applicability to simulate the spatially inhomogeneous multidirectional irregular wave incident boundary.

Impact of Indian summer monsoon in westerly dominated water resources of western Himalayas

ABSTRACT We used stable water isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen to identify and estimate the seasonal contribution of precipitation to the regional hydrology of Sindh and Rambiara catchments of western Himalayas. The different source waters exhibit significant spatio-temporal variations that correspond to the change in seasonal meteorology, precipitation form and moisture sources. The two-component hydrograph separation based on d-excess suggests that the western disturbances (WD) contribute dominantly (76 ± 4 %) to the regional hydrology, compared to Indian summer monsoon (ISM) rainfall (24 ± 4 %). A comparison of d-excess values of WD and ISM indicates the groundwater consists of 90 ± 3 % WD sources and 10 ± 2 % ISM sources, signifying distinct seasonal variations in groundwater recharge sources. The sine wave model results showed that the annual mean residence time (MRT) of groundwater for the Sindh catchment (5.8 ± 0.6 months) is greater than the Rambiara groundwater (3.6 ± 0.5 months). The lower isotope values observed in the river water than in the precipitation suggest its origin from the snowmelt. This study provides valuable insights into the hydrological processes operating in the high altitude Himalayan catchments to facilitate the improved understanding of runoff generation mechanisms and water resource management in future climate change scenarios.

Numerical Investigation of Hydrodynamics and Cohesive Sediment Transport in Cua Lo and Cua Hoi Estuaries, Vietnam

Two-dimensional models of large spatial domain including Cua Lo and Cua Hoi estuaries in Nghe An province, Vietnam, were established, calibrated, and verified with the observed data of tidal level, wave height, wave period, wave direction, and suspended sediment concentration. The model was then applied to investigate the hydrodynamics, cohesive sediment transport, and the morphodynamics feedbacks between two estuaries. Results reveal opposite patterns of nearshore currents affected by monsoons, which flow from the north to the south during the northeast (NE) monsoon and from the south to the north during the southeast (SE) monsoon. The spectral wave model results indicate that wave climate is the main control of the sediment transport in the study area. In the NE monsoon, sediment from Cua Lo port transported to the south generates the sand bar in the northern bank of the Cua Hoi estuary, while sediment from Cua Hoi cannot be carried to the Cua Lo estuary due to the presence of Hon Ngu Island and Lan Chau headland. As a result, the longshore sediment transport from the Cua Hoi estuary to the Cua Lo estuary is reduced and interrupted. The growth and degradation of the sand bars at the Cua Hoi estuary have a great influence on the stability of the navigation channel to Ben Thuy port as well as flood drainage of Lam River.

Assessing wind datasets and boundary conditions for wave hindcasting in the southern Brazil nearshore

This work investigates the sensitivity of the SWAN model with respect to state-of-the-art wave and wind datasets. The wave model was implemented and validated for the Southern Brazilian nearshore environment and simulated for 2015. Nine combinations of wave and wind datasets have been considered, aiming at establishing the boundary conditions and atmospheric forcing which best reproduce windsea and swell systems. The wave model results have been validated comparing against two buoys deployed in deep water and one buoy in shallow water. Wave parameters such as significant wave height Hs, mean wave direction Dm and peak wave period Tp have been computed and compared. Overall, the performance of the SWAN model satisfactorily reproduce the distinct waves fields for all wind and wave databases. However, the combination of datasets with ERA5 winds and CAWCR wave boundary conditions slightly outperforms the other combinations tested.

The impact of sea waves on turbulent heat fluxes in the Barents Sea according to numerical modeling

Abstract. This paper investigates the impact of sea waves on turbulent heat fluxes in the Barents Sea. The Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) algorithm, meteorological data from reanalysis and wave data from the WAVEWATCH III wave model results were used. The turbulent heat fluxes were calculated using the modified Charnock parameterization for the roughness length and several parameterizations that explicitly account for the sea wave parameters. A catalog of storm wave events and a catalog of extreme cold-air outbreaks over the Barents Sea were created and used to calculate heat fluxes during extreme events. The important role of cold-air outbreaks in the energy exchange between the Barents Sea and the atmosphere is demonstrated. A high correlation was found between the number of cold-air outbreak days and turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat, as well as with the net flux of longwave radiation averaged over the ice-free surface of the Barents Sea during a cold season. The differences in the long-term mean values of heat fluxes calculated using different parameterizations for the roughness length are small and are on average 1 %–3 % of the flux magnitude. The parameterizations of Taylor and Yelland (2001) and Oost et al. (2002) lead to an increase in the magnitude of the fluxes on average, and the parameterization of Drennan et al. (2003) leads to a decrease in the magnitude of the fluxes over the entire sea compared with the Charnock parameterization. The magnitude of heat fluxes and their differences during the storm wave events exceed the mean values by a factor of 2. However, the effect of explicitly accounting for the wave parameters is, on average, small and multidirectional, depending on the parameterization used for the roughness length. With respect to the climatic aspect, it can be argued that explicitly accounting for sea waves in the calculations of heat fluxes can be neglected. However, during the simultaneously observed storm wave events and cold-air outbreaks, the sensitivity of the calculated values of fluxes to the parameterizations used increases along with the turbulent heat transfer increase. In some extreme cases, during storms and cold-air outbreaks, the difference exceeds 700 W m−2.

Numerical and small-scale physical modelling of wave transmission by wooden fences

Mangrove forests, that often act as natural coastal defences, enormously suffered due to ongoing climate change and human disturbances. Thus, it is necessary to have a countermeasure to mitigate the loss of mangroves. Wooden fences are becoming a viable nature-based solution to protect vulnerable replanted mangrove forests. However, the wooden fence's hydraulic characteristics are not yet fully understood due to the complication of branches arrangement. In the present study, a small-scale wave flume modelling of wave damping by a wooden fence was constructed using the inner branches as an inhomogeneous arrangement tested in earlier flow-resistance experiments. The physical model results indicate that the wooden fence is highly effective on wave transmission and that the effectiveness in wave reduction depends on the relative fence thickness, B/Hi. To understand the scale effect on wave transmission further, the numerical model SWASH was used with the laboratory wave data. By applying the prior experiments' drag coefficient on steady flow, the uncalibrated numerical model gave a good agreement with the wave model results, with a root-mean-square error for the total transmitted wave heights of 4.7%. After validation, potential scale effects for small scale tests were determined from scaling simulations at both full scales and the applied 1:5 model scale. These simulations were performed for a fence porosity of 0.81, and different fence thicknesses to understand scale effects between model- and full-scale. Both wave reflection and transmission at model-scale are about 5% higher than full-scale results due to the increased drag coefficient and viscous effects. The effects of fence thickness and porosity were the same in large and small scale, and much larger than the error due to scale effects. Hence testing fence efficiency at physical small scale is regarded as a useful tool, together with numerical modelling.

Assessment of Extreme and Metocean Conditions in the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone for Wave Energy

Here, accessibility to near-shore and offshore marine sites is evaluated based on wave and ice conditions. High-resolution third-generation wave model results are used to examine the operation and maintenance conditions for renewable energy sources with a focus on wave energy. Special focus is given to the wave field and ice characteristics for areas within the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone including analysis of return levels for extreme values for significant wave height, which provides guidance for dimensioning wave energy converters. It is shown that the number of weather windows and accessibility are influenced by distance from the coast and sea-ice conditions. The longest waiting periods for the closest weather window that is available for Operation and Maintenance (O&M) is in ice-free conditions shown to be strongly correlated with the fetch conditions. The sheltered Baltic Sea is shown to have very high accessibility if marine infrastructure and vessels are designed for access limits of significant wave height up to 3 m. In the northern basins, the waiting periods increase significantly, if and when the ice-conditions are found to be critical for the O&M activity considered. The ice-conditions are examined based on compiled operational sea-ice data over a climatic time period of 34 years. The results are location specific for the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone, but the analysis methods are transferable and applicable to many other parts of the world, to facilitate assessment of the most promising areas in different regions.

Projection of spatiotemporal variability of wave power in the Persian Gulf by the end of 21st century: GCM and CORDEX ensemble

This study investigates future variability of wave power in the Persian Gulf. The contribution of this paper is twofold: (a) to evaluate spatiotemporal resolutions, downscaling techniques and global circulation model (GCM) selection impacts running multi-climate models, and (b) to project wave energy resources and its variability by the end of 21st century using RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 as two different representative concentration pathways (RCPs). The SWAN (Simulating Waves Nearshore) model forcing with near surface wind components was employed for wave simulation. The numerical wave model was calibrated and validated using wave measurements by two buoys prior to wave energy computations. The results of wave models obtained from different climate models showed a wide range of variety for different climatic resources associated with GCM selection, temporal and spatial resolutions and downscaling approach. Outputs of the wave model forcing with 3 hourly wind data of CMCC-CM and CORDEX-MPI (Max Plank Institute) with daily temporal resolution were recognized as the models with the best performance. Using a weighted average of these two models, the wave characteristics were obtained and wave energy were computed for the historical and future periods. Temporal distribution of energy shows highly intra-annual and seasonal variability when the mean wave power for the strongest month exceeds 1000 Watt per meter that is 10 times higher than the mean wave power in the weakest month. Similarly, a strong spatial variability in wave power distribution was revealed where the middle part of the Gulf has found to have the highest energy and the eastern and northwestern regions have the lowest energy. The projections illustrated a decreasing trend on future wave energy up to 40% in the Iranian coastlines and lower rate of changes in the southern stripe of the study area.

2D GPU-Accelerated High Resolution Numerical Scheme for Solving Diffusive Wave Equations

We developed a GPU-accelerated 2D physically based distributed rainfall runoff model for a PC environment. The governing equations were derived from the diffusive wave model for surface flow and the Horton infiltration model for rainfall loss. A numerical method for the diffusive wave equations was implemented based on a Godunov-type finite volume scheme. The flux at the computational cell interface was reconstructed using the piecewise linear monotonic upwind scheme for conservation laws with a van Leer slope total variation diminishing limiter. Parallelization was implemented using CUDA-Fortran with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 GPU. The proposed model was tested and verified against several 1D and 2D rainfall runoff processes with various topographies containing depressions. Simulated hydrographs, water depth, and velocity were compared to analytical solutions, dynamic wave modeling results, and measurement data. The diffusive wave model reproduced the runoff processes of impermeable basins with results similar to those of analytical solutions and the numerical results of a dynamic wave model. For ideal permeable basins containing depressions such as furrows and ponds, physically reasonable rainfall runoff processes were observed. From tests on a real basin with complex terrain, reasonable agreement with the measured data was observed. The performance of parallel computing was very efficient as the number of grids increased, achieving a maximum speedup of approximately 150 times compared to a CPU version using an Intel i7 4.7-GHz CPU in a PC environment.

Accuracy of altimeter data in inner and coastal seas

Abstract. We carry out an inter-comparison of four different altimeters: Cryosat, Jason-2, Jason-3, and Sentinel-3. This inter-comparison is undertaken by checking the altimeter data against the wind and wave model results of a given area, the Mediterranean Sea, for a 1-year period. The four data sets are consistent for wind speed, but they show substantial differences with respect to wave heights. The verification of a Sentinel-3 pass close to the coast in the northern Adriatic Sea shows irregular, spiky, large, wave height values close to the coast. This problem worsens when using high-frequency altimeter data.

A NUMERICAL STUDY ON SURFACE WAVE EVOLUTION OVER VISCOELASTIC MUD

A numerical modeling approach is applied to investigate the combined effect of wave-current-mud on the evolution of nonlinear waves. A frequency-domain phase-resolving wave-current model that solves nonlinear wave-wave interactions is used to solve wave evolution. A comparison between the results of numerical wave model and the laboratory experiments confirms the accuracy of the numerical model. The model is then applied to consider the effect of mud properties on nonlinear surface wave evolution. It is shown that resonance effect in viscoelastic mud creates a complex frequency-dependent dissipation pattern. In fact, due to the resonance effect, higher surface wave frequencies can experience higher damping rates over viscoelastic mud compared to viscous mud in both permanent form solution and random wave scenarios. Thus, neglecting mud elasticity can result in inaccuracies in estimating total wave energy and wave shape.

Meteo-Marine Parameters from Sentinel-1 SAR Imagery: Towards Near Real-Time Services for the Baltic Sea

A method for estimating meteo-marine parameters from satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, intended for near-real-time (NRT) service over the Baltic Sea, is presented and validated. Total significant wave height data are retrieved with an empirical function CWAVE_S1-IW, which combines spectral analysis of Sentinel-1A/B Interferometric Wide swath (IW) subscenes with wind data derived with common C-Band Geophysical Model Functions (GMFs). In total, 15 Sentinel-1A/B scenes (116 acquisitions) over the Baltic Sea were processed for comparison with off-shore sea state measurements (52 collocations) and coastal wind measurements (357 colocations). Sentinel-1 wave height was spatially compared with WAM wave model results (Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS). The comparison of SAR-derived wave heights shows good agreement with measured wave heights correlation r of 0.88 and with WAM model (r = 0.85). The wind speed estimated from SAR images yields good agreement with in situ data (r = 0.91). The study demonstrates that the wave retrievals from Sentinel-1 IW data provide valuable information for operational and statistical monitoring of wave conditions in the Baltic Sea. The data is valuable for model validation and interpretation in regions where, and during periods when, in situ measurements are missing. The Sentinel-1 A/B wave retrievals provide more detailed information about spatial variability of the wave field in the coastal zone compared to in situ measurements, altimetry wave products and model forecast. Thus, SAR data enables estimation of storm locations and areal coverage. Methods shown in the study are implemented in NRT service in German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) ground station Neustrelitz.

Rapid wave modeling of severe historical extratropical cyclones off the Northeastern United States

Storms play a significant role in coastal zone hydrodynamics, morphodynamics and flooding. The US Northeast is influenced by both extratropical (e.g. nor'easters) and tropical cyclones, which produce extreme winds, storm surges and waves, and as a result erosion and coastal damage. In this study, simulations of 100 of the most severe historical extratropical cyclones in this region were used to evaluate a new, rapid numerical wave model that is a candidate model for ensemble forecasting and hazard assessment. The main tool used was a coupled hydrodynamic-wave model, forced by wind and pressure from preexisting meteorological reanalysis datasets. The coupled models were the Stevens institute Estuarine and Coastal Ocean hydrodynamic Model (sECOM) and the Mellor et al. (2008) (hereafter MDO) wave model, and includes several important physical interactions (e.g. wave setup). Wave model results were compared to offshore buoy observational data from 1980 to 2012, and a sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate important model parameters. Results show that the wave model is very accurate for wave height (Hs), with an average RMSE of 0.92 m and skill ranging from 0.7 to 0.9. Results were less accurate for average wave period (Tavg), with an average RMSE of 1.97 s and skill ranging from 0.5 to 0.7. However, a comparison with a more widely used existing rapid wave model shows a substantial improvement over those Tavg results. Large waves approach the coast in Massachusetts Bay during extratropical cyclones, leading to important wave impacts including setup, and modeled storm surge is shown to have good accuracy and no bias at Boston. These results demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the model for rapid simulations of waves under history's most extreme extratropical cyclones, and the evaluation results and sensitivity analysis are used to suggest its appropriate uses and possible avenues of improvement.

Kinetic study of twisted electron plasma waves in q-nonextensive plasmas

Relying on the kinetic description, the electron-plasma (EP) waves carrying distinct orbital angular momentum (OAM) states are investigated in q-nonextensive plasma consisting of inertial electrons with static background of positive ions. Deriving an expression for the dielectric response function, the dispersion relation and Landau damping frequencies are analyzed both analytically and numerically. It is found that weakly damped regions of the EP waves strongly depend on the non-extensivity (q) and twist (η) parameters. The presence of finite OAM results in the longer range of the values in terms of normalized wavenumber for which the EP waves are weakly damped. However, maximum range of weakly damped wavenumbers is obtained when the longitudinal and azimuthal wavenumbers are equal, viz. twist parameter becomes unity. For very large twist parameter, the results of the twisted wave model coincide with the planer wave model.

Wind wave climate of west Spitsbergen: seasonal variability and extreme events

Summary Waves are the key phenomenon directly influencing coastal morphodynamics. Facing insufficient observations, wind wave climate of the west coast of Spitsbergen can be characterized on the basis of the modelled data. Here we have used the results of spectral wave models: Wave Watch III (WW3) hindcast and WAM in ERA-interim (ERAi) reanalysis. We have observed the presence of seasonal cycle with difference of up to 1 m between significant wave heights in summer and winter. In wave-direction analysis we have noticed the southwestern swell component of remarkably narrow width, thus we expect unidirectional swell impact on the coastline. Extreme events analysis revealed that storms occur mainly in winter, but the most energetic ones (significant wave height of up to 9.5 m) occur in spring and autumn. We have identified positive trends in storms’ frequency (2 storms per decade) and storms’ total duration (4 days per decade) on the south of the study area. More storms can result in the increase of erosion rate on the south-western coasts of Spitsbergen, but this change may be highly dependent on the sea ice characteristics. Wave heights of wind sea and swell are correlated with the relevant atmospheric circulation indices, especially the North Atlantic Oscillation. In the recent decade, the correlation is stronger with WW3 than with ERAi data, at some locations explaining over 50% (over 30%) of the total variance of wind sea (swell) wave heights. In ERAi data, the relationship with circulation indices seems sensitive to the length of the analysis period.

Wind storminess in the Adriatic Sea in a climate change scenario

In this work we assess the quality of the wind fields provided over the Adriatic Sea by the Regional Climate Model COSMO-CLM with reference to a control (CTR) period from 1971 to 2000 and to a future period from 2071 to 2100 under IPCC RCP 8.5 scenario (SCE), focusing on the implications for wave climate characterisation. Model skills have been assessed by comparing CTR results in terms of gross statistical properties and storm features against wind data from coastal observatories along the whole Italian Adriatic coast, showing a satisfactory capability of capturing the main features of mean observed seasonal variability. Significant achievements with reference to existing climatological models have been observed especially in terms of wind directionality, with unprecedented performances in reproducing the bimodal dominance of Bora (from northeast) and Sirocco (from southeast) in the northern basin, and the typical patterns of Bora jets flowing from the mountain ridges enclosing the Adriatic Sea on its eastern side. Future projections generally confirm the tendency to a decreasing energy trend envisaged by previous studies, with a more marked effect for extreme events in the northern basin. Based on the comparison between climatological wind fields and the results of a SWAN wave model run forced by COSMO-CLM, we also define and test a criterion for a rapid identification of some relevant case studies for dedicated wave modelling experiments, without the need of running entire climatological wave simulations. This permits to focus the analysis of climatological oceanographic extreme events to a limited number of selected cases, allowing remarkable saving of computational effort especially if an ensemble approach is desired.