WaveWatch

WAVEWATCH is a family of numerical ocean wave models used to forecast and study surface waves on the world’s oceans. The most widely known variant is WAVEWATCH III (WW3), a third‑generation spectral wave model that solves the wave action balance equation for a spectrum of waves, taking into account winds, currents, and bottom topography. It is employed by many national meteorological services, coastal agencies, and research institutions for operational forecasts and scientific analysis.

Model physics and inputs: WAVEWATCH models the evolution of the wave spectrum through sources and sinks of energy. Core processes include wind input, nonlinear wave–wave interactions, and dissipation through whitecapping, breaking, and bottom friction. The model can include current effects and depth-dependent shoaling, allowing waves to change as they propagate through varying bathymetry. It supports diverse grid configurations, including global, regional, and nested coastal grids, and can be run on spherical or Cartesian grids.

Outputs and applications: The model typically provides fields such as significant wave height, peak and mean wave periods, mean direction, and spectral density. These outputs support operational weather forecasting, maritime planning, coastal engineering, and climate research. WAVEWATCH is designed to be flexible, enabling different parameterizations for wind input, nonlinear interactions, and dissipation to suit regional conditions and data availability.

Development and use: WAVEWATCH originated from collaborative efforts involving national weather services, universities, and research laboratories, and has undergone ongoing development to incorporate advances in ocean-wave physics and numerical methods. WW3 remains in active use and is continually updated to improve forecast skill and adaptability to various observational data and input wind fields.