Observations and Modeling of Wind Waves in a Shallow Estuary: Galveston Bay, Texas

Abstract

An observational wave study was conducted to test empirical relations and compare with numerical model results in shallow water environments. Relations among nondimensional water-depth, nondimensional wave-energy, and nondimensional peak-frequency are presented based on both subsurface pressure and velocity time-series collected in Galveston Bay, Texas. The values reported here provide further confirmation of nondimensional wave parameterizations over a range spanning two orders of magnitude of the nondimensional depth. A comparison of observed wave statistics (significant wave heights, peak periods, and wave directions) to numerical model hindcasts was found to be in good agreement with the observations. Further inspection of the observed and modeled energy spectra showed that peak periods were in good agreement, although the modeled spectra were less peaked.