CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 3 



WAVE AND WATER LEVEL PREDICTIONS 



Page 

 I INTRODUCTION 3-1 



II CHARACTERISTICS OF OCEAN WAVES 3-1 



1 . Significant Wave Height and Period 3-2 



2. Wave Height Variability 3-2 



3. Energy Spectra of Waves 3-11 



4. Directional Spectra of Waves 3-14 



5 . Comparability of Wave Height Parameters 3-14 



III WAVE FIELD 3-19 



1. Development of a Wave Field 3-19 



2. Verification of Wave Hindcasting 3-21 



3. Decay of a Wave Field 3-21 



IV ESTIMATION OF SURFACE WINDS FOR WAVE PREDICTION 3-24 



1. Winds Over Water 3-24 



2. Procedure for Adjusting Winds Observed 0\-er Water 3-32 



3. Procedure for Estimating Overwater Winds from Nearby 



Land Winds 3-32 



4. Wind Information from Surface Pressure 3-33 



V SIMPLIFIED METHODS FOR ESTIMATING WAVE CONDITIONS 3-39 



1. Delineating a Fetch 3-39 



2. Simplified Wave-Prediction Models 3-42 



3. Formulas for Predicting Waves in Deep Water 3-44 



4. Narrow Fetch Conditions 3-51 



5. Effects of Moving Storms and a Variable Wind Speed 



and Direction 3-53 



VI WAVE FORECASTING FOR SHALLOW WATER 3-55 



1 . Forecasting Curves « 3-55 



2. Propagation Over Flooded, Vegetated Land 3-66 



VII HURRICANE WAVES 3-77 



1 . Description of Hurricane Waves 3-77 



2. Model Wind and Pressure Fields for Hurricanes 3-81 



3 . Prediction Technique 3-83 



VIII WATER LEVEL FLUCTUATIONS 3-88 



1 . Astronomical Tides 3-89 



2. Tsunamis 3-92 



3 . Lake Levels 3-93 



4 . Seiches 3-96 



5 . Wave Setup 3-99 



6. Storm Surge and Wind Setup 3-107 



LITERATURE CITED 3-130 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 3-140 



