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Evaluation of ocean surface waves along the coastal area of the Sea of Okhotsk during winter
  • Shinsuke Iwasaki,
  • Junichi Otsuka
Shinsuke Iwasaki
Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Junichi Otsuka
Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region
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Abstract

Ocean surface waves tend to be attenuated on interaction with sea ice. In this study, six sea ice models were implemented in the third-generation wave model WAVEWATCH III (WW3) to estimate wave attenuation by sea ice. The models were evaluated using buoy observations in the coastal area of the Sea of Okhotsk (SO). Additionally, the impact of sea ice on wave fields was demonstrated by model experiments with and without the utilization of sea ice. As a result, one of the empirical models strongly agrees with the buoy observation. The simulation with sea ice drastically improved the bias of wave fields in coastal areas compared to simulation without sea ice. Moreover, the impact of sea ice reached more than 1 m (3 s) for the monthly significant wave height (period). These results suggest that the effect of sea ice on wave calculation is essential in the SO.