Directional Wave Spectra Observed during JONSWAP 1973

Abstract

Estimates of the directional wave spectrum obtained from the meteorological buoy of the University of Hamburg and a pitch-and-roll buoy of the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences are reported from a series of measurements made within the framework of the Joint North Sea Wave Project during September 1973. Three main aspects were considered. First, the properties and parameterization of the directional spectrum were studied when the waves were generated by steady winds without any significant swell contribution. The results do not support the parameterization proposed by Mitsuyasu et al. (1975) and are in agreement with a parameterization in which the peak frequency is the relevant scale parameter. Second, comparisons are made between two independent methods of fitting the data exactly by means of a maximum likelihood technique (Long and Hasselmann, 1979) and a least-squares technique. The two methods give very similar fits to the observed data. Finally, the response of the directional wave spectrum to veering winds is considered and a simple model is constructed as a first attempt to describe some of the observations.