The long-term goals of the present project are two: wind/wave climatology for the Arctic Seas and their current and potential future trends; and WAVEWATCH-III and SWAN wave models with new physics, adapted and validated for the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.
OBJECTIVESThe wind/wave climatology for the Arctic Seas will be developed based on altimeter observations. It will have a major scientific and applied significance as presently there is no reference climatology for this region of the ocean available. The new versions of wave models for Beaufort and Chukchi Seas will include new physics that is already under development, and the novel physics presently unavailable. In particular, it is planned to use a wave boundary layer model to replace traditional wind-input parameterisations. The models will be suitable for operational forecast. Altimeter climatology and the wave models will be used to study the current and future wind/wave and ice trends.
APPROACHSpaceborne radar altimeters have observed the oceans for more than two decades with an almost continuous record since 1985. Pulse-limited radar altimeters can estimate wave height about every second over a footprint of 1-10km while the precise size depends on various characteristics (i.e. range, pulse width, wave height). Satellite altimetry is also able to provide information on surface winds and on storm events, and on the respective trends in these quantities. Satellites equipped with altimeters operate on various orbits, which determine the repeat cycle, inclination angle, altitude etc. With