Modeling Tropical Cyclone Wave Population of the Great Barrier Reef
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 129, Issue 3
Abstract
Wave information is generated for the population of tropical cyclones that affects the Great Barrier Reef region. Several models are combined to create a wave database at 150,000 locations at a resolution of 1,500 m throughout this large and remote region. An autoregressive time series model, based on historical data, generated time series of position and central pressure for a very large ensemble of synthetic tropical cyclones. An empirical model was used to create the wind field throughout the wave generating area. The wind field had three components: The primary cyclone vortex, a secondary vortex used to model the low-pressure trough in which a cyclone is often embedded, and the external synoptic scale wind field created between the cyclone and the mid latitude high-pressure systems. WAMGBR, a wave generation model especially adapted for conditions in the Great Barrier Reef, was used to simulate a very large ensemble of storms on a nested grid system in transformed spherical coordinates. The results of the study are significant wave heights, peak periods, and mean directions for return periods between 20 and 1,000 years.
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Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 129 • Issue 3 • May 2003
Pages: 104 - 113
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 5, 2002
Accepted: Jul 10, 2002
Published online: Apr 15, 2003
Published in print: May 2003
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