OCEAN CURRENT AND SHALLOW WATER WAVE REFRACTION IN AN OPERATIONAL SPECTRAL OCEAN WAVE MODEL

An operational shallow water wave refraction model, incorporating the work of Chao (1971), has been modified to include refraction due to ocean currents. Analyses of spectra from time histories taken during the Marineland SEASAT-A Test Experiment, on the continental shelf of Florida, are used to compare with the refraction results. The deep ocean Spectral Ocean Wave Model (SOWM) in use at Fleet Numerical Weather Central (FNWC) was used to initialize the shallow water model. Within the limits of directional resolution of the SOWM, the results are sufficient in this case to agree with the predicted theory of wave-current interaction. Appreciable modifications of the waves can occur when they interact with a major ocean current. The results illustrate that considerable error will occur in the shallow water spectrum if wave-current interaction is not considered.