Effects of Winds, Tides, and Storm Surges on Ocean Surface Waves in the Japan/east Sea

Wind driven oceanic surface waves have a major impact on marine activity, especially near the coastal regions. Strong winds associated with winter storms induce storm surges along the west coast of Japan. Combined high wind conditions, tides, and storm surges can have a tremendous impact on the surface wave fields. Accurate wave forecast becomes an important issue at various operational forecast centers around the world. The physical processes governing the wind-wave and current-wave interactions, however, remain largely unknown in the Japan/East Sea (JES). Recent advancements in the numerical prediction of the atmospheric forcing using high-resolution atmospheric models and ocean surface wave modeling have made it possible to examine some of the scientific issues related to wind, wave, and current interactions. In this study, we use a wave model to investigate the impacts of variability of wind forcing, tides, and storm surges on the surface wave fields in JES where winter storm conditions are a perfect test bed for our modeling experiments.