Black Sea wave power

'''DEFINITION'''

The Wave Power P is defined by: P=(ρg^2)/64π H_s^2 T_e where ρ is the surface water density, g the acceleration due to gravity, Hs the significant wave height (VHM0), and Te the wave energy period (VTM10) also abbreviated with Tm-10 based on the Black Sea wave model reanalysis (product BLKSEA_MULTIYEAR_WAV_007_006). The extreme statistics and related recent changes are defined by (1) the 99th percentile of the Wave Power, (2) the linear trend of 99th percentile of the Wave Power, and (3) the difference (anomaly) of the 99th percentile of the last available year in the multiyear dataset compared against the long-term average as presented in Staneva et al. (2022). The statistics are based on the period 1950 to -18M and are obtained from yearly averages.

'''CONTEXT'''

In the last decade, the European seas have been hit by severe storms, causing serious damage to offshore infrastructure and coastal zones and drawing public attention to the importance of having reliable and comprehensive wave forecasts/hindcasts, especially during extreme events. In addition, human activities such as the offshore wind power industry, the oil industry, and coastal recreation regularly require climate and operational information on maximum wave height at a high resolution in space and time. Thus, there is a broad consensus that a high-quality wave climatology and predictions and a deep understanding of extreme waves caused by storms could substantially contribute to coastal risk management and protection measures, thereby preventing or minimising human and material damage and losses. In this respect, the Wave Power is a crucial quantity to plan and operate wave energy converters (WEC) and for coastal and offshore structures. For both reliable estimates of long-term Wave Power extremes are important to secure a high efficiency and to guarantee a robust and secure design, respectively.

'''KEY FINDINGS'''

The 99th percentile of wave power mean patterns are overall consistent with the respective significant wave height pattern. The maximum 99th percentile of wave power is observed in the southwestern Black Sea. Typical values of in the eastern basin are ~20 kW/m and in the western basin ~45 kW/m. The trend of the 99th percentile of the wave power is decreasing with an average value of 38 W/m/year and a maximum of 100 W/m/year, which is equivalent to a ~10-15% decrease over whole period with respect to the mean. The pattern of the anomaly of the 99th percentile of wave power in 2023 correlates well with that of the wind speed anomaly in 2023, revealing a clear positive wave power anomaly in vast regions of the Black Sea basin (8.5 kW/m on spatial average) with the maxima in the southern half of the domain indicating higher waves in 2023 compared to the average.

'''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/mds-00350