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Measurements collected during the AUSWEX field campaign, at Lake George (Australia), resulted in new insights into the processes of wind wave interaction and whitecapping dissipation, and consequently new parameterizations of the input and dissipation source terms. The new nonlinear wind input term developed accounts for dependence of the growth on wave steepness, airflow separation, and for negative growth rate under adverse winds. The new dissipation terms feature the inherent breaking term, a cumulative dissipation term and a term due to production of turbulence by waves, which is particularly relevant for decaying seas and for swell. The latter is consistent with the observed decay rate of ocean swell. This paper describes these source terms implemented in WAVEWATCH III ®and evaluates the performance against existing source terms in academic duration-limited tests, against buoy measurements for windsea-dominated conditions, under conditions of extreme wind forcing (Hurricane Katrina), and against altimeter data in global hindcasts. Results show agreement by means of growth curves as well as integral and spectral parameters in the simulations and hindcast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response of a wind-sea spectrum to sudden changes in wind directions of 180° and 90° is investigated. Numerical simulations using the third-generation wave spectral model SWAN have been undertaken at micro timescales of 30 s and fine spatial resolution of less than 10 m. The results have been validated against the wave data collected during the field campaign at Lake George, Australia. The newly implemented ‘ST6’ physics in the SWAN model has been evaluated using a selection of bottom-friction terms and the two available functions for the nonlinear energy transfer: (1) exact solution of the nonlinear term (XNL), and (2) discrete interactions approximation (DIA) that parameterizes the nonlinear term. Good agreement of the modelled data is demonstrated directly with the field data and through the known experimental growth curves obtained from the extensive Lake George data set. The modelling results show that of the various combinations of models tested, the ST6/XNL model provides the most reliable computations of integral and spectral wave parameters. When the winds and waves are opposing (180° wind turn), the XNL is nearly twice as fast in the aligning the young wind-sea with the new wind direction than the DIA. In this case, the young wind-sea gradually decouples from the old waves and forms a new secondary peak. Unlike the 180° wind turn, there is no decoupling in the 90° wind turn and the entire spectrum rotates smoothly in the new direction. In both cases, the young wind-sea starts developing in the new wind direction within 10 min of the wind turn for the ST6 while the directional response of the default physics lags behind with a response time that is nearly double of ST6. The modelling results highlight the differences in source term balance among the different models in SWAN. During high wind speeds, the default settings provide a larger contribution from the bottom-friction dissipation than the whitecapping. In contrast, the whitecapping dissipation is dominant in ST6 while the bottom-friction generated by the new model with ripple formation provides a significant contribution during strong winds only. During low wind speeds and non-breaking wave conditions, a separate swell or nonbreaking dissipation source term continues the decay of waves that cannot be dissipated by the whitecapping dissipation function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable estimates of ocean surface waves and their long-term global trends are fundamentally important for numerous ocean engineering and geophysical applications. Nonetheless, it is scientifically and technically demanding to accurately identify such relatively small trends [ O (0. 1 − 1) cm yr−1] from wave data currently available. In 2022, Young and Ribal demonstrated that by changing the calibration method, multiplatform altimeter observations yield noticeable differences in wave height estimates and their trends. In this paper, we use our global wave hindcast as a baseline and confirm that observations calibrated relative to one another (i.e., "altimeter-altimeter" calibration) ultimately outperform traditionally "altimeter-buoy" calibrated data. The former leads to more consistent mean and extreme wave heights across simultaneously operating altimeters and consequently to a more homogeneous evolution of global sea states over the past several decades. The underlying reason is hypothesized to be that temporal inhomogeneities in long-term NDBC buoy records due to changes in buoy hardware and software over time introduce comparable inhomogeneities to long-term altimeter observations when the "altimeter-buoy" calibration is adopted. It is encouraging to observe that the global trends of mean and 90th-percentile wave heights over the period 1992-2019 from our hindcast and re-calibrated altimeter data are very close: approximately 0.3 cm yr−1. Nonetheless, the altimeter-based trend of 99th-percentile wave height, H s 99 , is substantially-but-spuriously stronger mainly due to markedly growing availability of altimeter missions over time. Our work clearly demonstrates the power of third generation spectral wave models as diagnostics tools. Given the uncertainties embedded in buoy and satellite observations, wave modeling and global wave hindcasts can indeed guide these measurements. Further analysis of the underlying climate physics driving the interannual variability of ocean waves in wind-sea dominated regions is also presented. • Investigation of global wave height climatology and trends from altimeter and model. • Intercomparison of two calibration methods of altimeter wave observations. • The "altimeter-altimeter" calibration outperforms the "altimeter-buoy" calibration. • Inhomogeneity clearly exists in the long-term NDBC buoy records. • Impact of large-scale climate physics on the interannual variability of ocean waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-resolution third-generation wave model based on unstructured grids, WAVEWATCH III, was used to investigate the wave climate of Bass Strait and South-East Australia over the period 1981 to 2020. The model results are extensively validated against a network of coastal buoys and demonstrate that the model can capture the overall wave characteristics in this region. Analyses of model outputs across the 40-year period show that significant wave height has increased by approximately 5% and a slight counterclockwise rotation of peak wave direction has occurred with likely implications for coastal processes. Seasonal variations show higher significant wave height in winter compared to summer, which is driven by dominant Southern Ocean swell. The peak wave direction in the eastern region shifts from south-westerly in winter to south-easterly in summer. In autumn and winter, there is a statistically significant correlation between wave conditions and the Southern Annular Mode. During these seasons, a southward movement of Southern Ocean low pressure systems is associated with increased significant wave height, an increase in the peak wave period and a counterclockwise rotation of the peak wave direction. • High-resolution wave model for SE Australia validated against extensive buoy data. • Mean, seasonal, and extreme wave conditions are examined. • Trends over the last 40-years show an increasing wave climate. • Changes in Southern Ocean swell have a major impact on the local wave climate. • Sheltering in the region results in high spatial gradients in wave climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]