TY - JOUR
TI - Assimilation of radar altimeter data in numerical wave models: An impact study in two different wave climate regions
AU - Emmanouil, G.
AU - Galanis, G.
AU - Kallos, G.
AU - Breivik, L.A.
AU - Heiberg, H.
AU - Reistad, M.
JO - Annales geophysicae
PY - 2007
VL - 25
TODO - 3
SP - 581-595
PB - European Geosciences Union (EGU)
SN - 0755-0685
TODO - 10.5194/angeo-25-581-2007
TODO - air-sea interaction;  data assimilation;  forecasting method;  numerical model;  radar altimetry;  satellite data;  wave climate;  wave height, Indian Ocean;  Mediterranean Sea
TODO - An operational assimilation system incorporating significant wave height observations in high resolution numerical wave models is studied and evaluated. In particular, altimeter satellite data provided by the European Space Agency (ESA-ENVISAT) are assimilated in the wave model WAM which operates in two different wave climate areas: the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. The first is a wind-sea dominated area while in the second, swell is the principal part of the sea state, a fact that seriously affects the performance of the assimilation scheme. A detailed study of the different impact is presented and the resulting forecasts are evaluated against available buoy and satellite observations. The corresponding results show a considerable improvement in wave forecasting for the Indian Ocean while in the Mediterranean Sea the assimilation impact is restricted to isolated areas.
ER -