PART III: WAVES 



27. This section presents summaries of the wave data. A discussion of 

 individual major storms is given in Part IX and contains additional wave data 

 for times when wave heights exceeded 2 m at the seaward end of the FRF pier. 

 Appendix B (published as Volume II) provides more extensive summaries of the 

 data for each gage, including height and period distributions, wave direction 

 distributions, persistence tables, and spectra during storms. Signals from 

 the wave gages were routinely sampled similarly to the meteorological data de- 

 scribed in Part II. 



28. Wave directions (similar to wind directions) at the FRF are season- 

 ally distributed. Waves approach most frequently from north of the pier in 

 the fall and winter and south of the pier in the summer, with the exception of 

 storm waves which approach twice as frequently from north of the pier. An- 

 nually, waves are approximately evenly distributed between north and south 

 (resultant wave direction being almost shore-normal) . 



Measurement Instruments 



29. The wave gages included two buoys and two wave staff gages located 

 as follows: 



Gage Number Location Average Depth, m 



630 



6 km from shore 



-18.0 



640 



1 km from shore 



-9.0 



625 



Pier end 



-8.0 



645 



Landward end of pier 



-3.5 



Staff gages 







30. Two Baylor Company (Houston, TX) parallel cable inductance wave 

 gages (Gage 645 at sta 7+80 and Gage 625 at sta 19+00 (Figure 2)) were mounted 

 on the FRF pier. Rugged and reliable, these gages require little maintenance 

 except to keep tension on the cables and to remove any material which may 

 cause an electrical short between them. They were calibrated prior to instal- 

 lation by creating an electrical short between the two cables at known dis- 

 tances along the cable and recording the voltage output. Electronic signal 

 conditioning amplifiers are used to ensure that the output signals from the 

 gages are within a 0- to 5-V range. Manufacturer-stated gage accuracy is 



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