The preceding examples illustrate several applications in which more 

 detailed specification of sea state is needed. Much of this additional 

 needed detail is provided by the energy spectrum. Evolving technology 

 and design techniques in most areas of coastal engineering are generating 

 a similar need for engineers to acquire a more advanced understanding of 

 sea state and its climate. 



CERC (and its prede 

 gages at numerous U.S 

 a volume of shallow-wat 

 in the world. Most of 

 depths of 4 to 6 meters 

 of the gages have been 

 the gages was capable o 

 used at one site to obt 



cessor the Beach Erosion Board) has operated wave 

 sites during the last 30 years and has acquired 

 er coastal wave records matched by few other places 

 the gages were mounted on coastal piers in water 



Significant wave heights and periods from many 

 summarized by Thompson (1977). Although none of 

 f sensing wave direction, an array of gages was 

 ain direction estimates (Esteva, 1977). 



This report presents spectra and spectral summaries for the selected 

 CERC gage locations shown in Figure 1; it contains 264 high-energy spec- 

 tra which mostly represent shallow-water wave conditions. These spec- 

 tra are a significant addition to the existing published literature on 

 shallow-water spectra. Field measurements continually show that indi- 

 vidual spectra are quite erratic and variable. To identify general 

 spectral characteristics, this report contains summaries of approxi- 

 mately 7,000 spectra and selected spectral parameters; summaries of 

 parameters of the sea-surface elevation distribution function are also 

 included. 



The scope of this report is limited. Fewer than one-half of the 

 CERC gages for which spectra are available are included. Gages were 

 selected for optimum coverage of U.S. coasts and optimum accessibility 

 of archived spectra. Only a fraction of the available spectra from 

 each gage was considered. For most gages, the spectra represent one 



Pt. Mugu 



Huntington Beoch 



/J*-Atlontic City 



/ "v*-Virginio Beech 

 ogs Heod 



oke Worth 



Figure 1. CERC wave gage locations, 



12 



