Design Waves and Wave Spectra for Engineering Applications

by Chung-Chu Teng, Natl Data Buoy Cent, Stennis Space Center, United States,
Gerald L. Timpe, Natl Data Buoy Cent, Stennis Space Center, United States,
Ian M. Palao, Natl Data Buoy Cent, Stennis Space Center, United States,
David A. Brown, Natl Data Buoy Cent, Stennis Space Center, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Ocean Wave Measurement and Analysis

Abstract:

Thirteen years of hourly wave data measured at two of the National Data Buoy Center's (NDBC) buoy stations, one located in the northeastern Pacific and the other located in the northwestern Atlantic, were used to form a data base to develop design wave information. It was found that both the significant wave height and average wave period fit well with the log-normal distribution. The relationships between significant wave height and average wave period were established based on the lower limit and the average sense. Following the extreme value analysis, the design wave heights for both buoy stations were calculated using different extreme value distributions and parameter estimation techniques. It was also found that the Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum can be used to estimate climatic wave spectra for high sea states in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, while the JONSWAP spectrum is more appropriate for the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Subject Headings: Wave spectrum | Wave height | Wave spectra | Water waves | Hydraulic design | Ocean engineering | Databases | Pacific Ocean | Atlantic Ocean

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