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Sailing synthetic seas: Stochastic simulation of benchmark sea state time series
Publikationstyp
Journal Article
Date Issued
2022-07-23
Sprache
English
Author(s)
Journal
Volume
176
Article Number
104164
Citation
Coastal Engineering 176: 104164 (2022)
Publisher DOI
Scopus ID
Publisher
Elsevier
Coastal and offshore engineering relies on the analysis of sea state parameters, such as significant wave height (Hm₀), zero-crossing mean wave period (Tm₀₂), and mean wave direction (Θm). Since observed records of these parameters usually span only a few years, proper uncertainty assessment requires the simulation of unobserved but equally plausible time series. This study suggests a simple stochastic method, named SyntheSeas, to generate synthetic sequences that preserve marginal distributions and power spectra along with power cross-spectra of Hm₀, Tm₀₂, and Θm. SyntheSeas is a tailored version of the multivariate Iterative Amplitude Adjusted Fourier Transform (IAAFT) method, and has several desirable properties: (i) it relies on minimal assumptions, (ii) it accounts for the limiting steepness condition that constrains the relationship between Hm₀ and Tm₀₂without using ad hoc parametrisation, and (iii) it accounts for the modelling problems due to the circular behaviour of Θ<inf>m</inf> with satisfactory approximation. Thanks to its simplicity and transparency, SyntheSeas (i) allows the identification of the key properties required to simulate realistic time series of Hm₀, Tm₀₂, and Θm, (ii) provides a benchmark to test parametric models and their components, and (iii) enables quick applications, such as preliminary uncertainty and sensitivity analyses, without requiring advanced expertise in stochastic modelling. As a proof of concept, we discuss an application to data recorded from four wave buoys deployed around the United Kingdom.
Subjects
Benchmark simulation
Constrained Fourier Transform
Cross-spectrum
Joint distributions
Mean wave direction
Mean zero-crossing period
Significant wave height
Synthetic sea states
DDC Class
600: Technology