Calculation and Forecast of the Sea State

To calculate and forecast the wind sea and the swell, different methods were developed. In some cases, relatively simple empirical growth formula are sufficient, which were used to generate easily readable diagrams for estimating the sea state (see Section 7.1.4.1). 

On the contrary, for operational numerical weather and sea state forecasts complex sea state models are operated, which calculate from the wind fields of meteorological forecasts 

TABLE 7.4 Wave Height as a Function of the Difference between Water and Air Temperature (Roll, 1952) 

The Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), for example, calculates twice daily global sea state 

In addition to operational forecasts, another important application of the sea state models is the calculation of the climatological sea state conditions over long periods on the basis of reanalyzed wind fields (Augustin, 2005 Weisse, 2007). 

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