Frequency Banded Wave Characteristic Observed by GPS Buoys off the Pacific Coast of Japan

Abstract

This study conducted the statistical analysis on frequency-banded wave components acquired by the GPS buoys and their nearby coastal wave gauges on the Pacific coast of Tohoku to Shikoku District, Japan. A high correlation was found between the frequency-banded wave height at a GPS buoy and its nearby coastal wave gauge, particularly in long period components. The correlation between the long-period wave height and the significant wave height is high, while the ratio of the swell height to the significant wave height varies with the wave direction and the meteorological condition. The swell direction sometimes differs from the wind wave direction, and the ratio of the swell height to the significant wave height differs between before and after the peak of the significant wave height.