11 November 1995. The mean wave height ranged from 2.7 ft (0.82 m) in 
January to 1.9 ft (0.58 m) in June. Figure 5 is a wave rose for the Long Branch 
gauge, showing the percent occurrence of wave conditions in sixteen 22.5-deg 
direction bands. The percent occurrences in the wave rose have been adjusted, 
by month, to reflect an even distribution of wave conditions throughout the year 
accounting for gaps in the record. The adjustment is made by calculating the 
distribution for each month, and then weighting the data for each month based on 
the number of days in the month. 
Wave data are also available from the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) 
Buoy 44025, located south of Long Island at 40.25° N, 73.17° W. The buoy is 
located almost directly offshore of Monmouth Beach in a water depth of 130 ft 
(40 m). Wave data are available from January 1994 - February 1996. Data were 
collected at a rate of 1 Hz for 1,024 sec, once per hour. The buoy data were 
examined because the record is more complete (93-percent data return as com- 
pared with Long Branch gauge’s 70 percent). The only significant gap in the 
data record was 11 November to 4 December 1995 (note that this is the time of 
the maximum wave height at the Long Branch gauge). Statistics from the buoy 
are given in Appendix A2. The maximum recorded wave height was 24.3 ft 
(7.4 m) on 3 March 1996 (wave height at the Long Branch gauge was 13 ft (4 m) 
at that time). The wave heights at the buoy are significantly larger than 
measured at Long Branch. The distribution of wave periods above 10 sec is 
similar for the two gauges, but the buoy records more short-period wave events 
(periods less than 7 sec) because of local wave generation between the New 
Jersey coast and the buoy location. Wave directions are more broadly 
distributed at the buoy than at Long Branch because of the deeper water depth 
and longer fetch from the west. Both the buoy and Long Branch gauge have 
peaks in the directional distribution at 112.5-135 deg (angles are referenced 
clockwise from North). The buoy also has a secondary peak at 292.5 deg. 
Figure 6 is a wave rose for the Long Island buoy. The percent occurrences have 
been adjusted to account for gaps in the record. Wind speeds and directions 
measured at the buoy are included in the statistics given in Appendix A2. 
Figure 7 is a wind rose for the buoy site. 
Although there are large gaps in the Long Branch data record, these data are 
used to look at the wave directions at Monmouth Beach for assessing the wave 
focusing by Shrewsbury Rocks. The proximity of the Long Branch gauge to 
Monmouth Beach makes it most relevant for evaluating the local wave climate, 
in spite of data gaps. 
Figures 8-11 show seasonal wave roses for the Long Branch measurements. 
Note that the percentages in each plot add to 100 percent. Two dominant 
patterns arise. In the fall and winter (September through February), the 
dominant wave direction is 112.5 deg (east-southeast) (40 percent). The percent 
occurrence in the adjoining bands (90 and 135 deg) is 17-24 percent and 27- 
28 percent, respectively. 
Chapter 2 Waves Focusing by Shrewsbury Rocks 
