AN APPROACH TOWARDS WAVE CLIMATE STUDY IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND THE GULF OF OMAN: SIMULATION AND VALIDATION

This article describes the 11-year wave simulation (1992-2002) in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman using the input data derived from European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The ECMWF 10 meter wind field and spectral wave boundary condition at 18 ْN degree are input into one of the latest versions of numerical wave models (3rd generation) after a few local modifications. Tropical cyclones during the last 30 years in the northern Indian Ocean which affect the Gulf of Oman are regenerated and wave simulation for individual cyclones is carried out. Open boundary of continuous hindcast is also modified in cyclone periods. In-situ and satellite wind and wave data sets are used to evaluate the accuracy of input wind and simulated wave fields. Extreme Value Analysis (EVA) is the next taken stage in which the wave characteristics were calculated for different return periods. Similar analysis is performed on the directional data to find out significance of storms in each direction. Finally, a user-friendly engineering and management tool is developed and verified.