A Parametric Model of Tropical Cyclone Wave Fields

O'Grady, J.G., 2024. A parametric model of tropical cyclone wave fields. In: Phillips, M.R.; Al-Naemi, S., and Duarte, C.M. (eds.), Coastlines under Global Change: Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2024 (Doha, Qatar). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 113, pp. 991-995. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. Tropical cyclones (TCs), generate strong winds, creating large wind-sea and swell waves which cause hazardous ocean conditions which propagate towards the shore, resulting in hazardous surf conditions, coastal inundation, and erosion. The largest waves generated by a TC are collocated with the radius of maximum winds, on the side of the storm where the winds align with the forward TC motion (left side of the forward motion for the southern hemisphere, right for the northern hemisphere). Wave fields can be predicted effectively with numerical spectral wave models. However, such models can be expensive in terms of their computational and input data requirements. Due to the infrequency of TC occurrences in the observed record, a common approach to assessing the likelihood of TC hazards is the generation of large numbers of synthetic cyclones. To achieve this, simplified and computationally efficient nondynamic parametric cyclone wave field models enable rapid approximations of the wave field surrounding the cyclone from a limited number of input parameters. In this study, we develop an empirical equation to model wave height fields. This model builds on previous empirical and semi-empirical models based on wave buoy observations and aircraft transits of historic TCs in the North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. It requires inputs of local wind speed, TC size, and motion parameters. The development of this model incorporates a larger sample of TCs and wave buoy data from the same ocean basins. This wave field model is part of an open-source effort to simulate multi-hazards arising from TCs.