Waves off Mangalore Harbor—West Coast of India

Detailed statistical investigations of recorded waves off Mangalore on the West Coast of India are presented. Rayleigh distribution is found to describe adequately the distribution of wave heights and this distribution is not found to be especially sensitive to the spectral width parameter. Wave height parameters are in good agreement with the Longuet–Higgins' theoretical results, over a wide range of ocean wave environment. The highest waves reaching the coast are not found to be associated with the longest periods. The wave height and period variations are studied for different seasons. Severe waves occur only during the monsoon season and the sea is practically calm during the fair-weather season. Based on a study of weather data and cyclone tracks for the Arabian Sea, it is recommended that the design wave could be based on the annual wave evaluated from recorded data. Wave characteristics evaluated using Tucker's Method of Analysis compared favorably with computed data