WAVE REGIME IN THE KAZAKHSTAN SECTOR OF THE CASPIAN SEA BASED ON NUMERICAL MODELING

The Caspian Sea is an inland body of water subject to various natural hydrometeorological phenomena, as well as an important strategic area of Kazakhstan in economic terms. The location of large oil fields and ports requires timely analysis and forecasting of changes in the characteristics of waves in order to ensure the safety of navigation at sea. In this regard, in this paper, retrospective calculations of the height and prevailing direction of the wave for 1959-2021 were carried out, based on the SWAN spectral wave model and ERA5 reanalysis data. The average values of the wave height were about 0.4 m, the maximum values of the wave height ranged up to 3.2 m, and the prevailing direction of the wave was southeast. According to the results obtained over a 62-year period, the number of cases exceeding the significant wave height of 2 m was determined. So, for the period 1959-2021, out of the total number of calculated hourly wave heights in the water area, a storm situation was observed in 104,416 cases. The highest wave heights are observed in the period from January to March. As a result of calculations, maps of spatiotemporal changes in wave height across the sea areas were constructed.