RECONSTRUCTION OF THE NEARSHORE SURFACE WAVE FIELD VIA ASSIMILATION OF REMOTE SENSING DATA

Abstract

Typically, phase-resolved observations of the surface wave field are limited to in situ single-point time series. Select locations and field projects may have a handful or more single-point time series, such as for example the USACE FRF "8 meter array†. Recently, phase-resolved wave field observations with more spatial coverage have become available using LIDARs; however, LIDAR scan rates are only fast enough to encompass one horizontal dimension at the necessary phase-resolving sampling rates. Imaging remote sensors, such as optical cameras and marine radars, offer the possibility of full 2D reconstruction of the phase-resolved wave field. Accurate reconstructions from these sensors would essentially be equivalent to having thousands of wave gauges. Applications include short-term wave forecasting for maritime operations (e.g., cargo unloading) and highspeed navigation, as well as control schemes for wave energy converters. Moreover, realistic wave field reconstruction of nearshore wave fields would offer a very valuable new tool for investigating the time and space varying wave forcing in the nearshore.