Comparative Analysis of Wave Data Assimilation Techniques for OI and EnOI on the Wave Model in Nearshore and Offshore Areas

Abstract

The application of Data Assimilation (DA) techniques in ocean wave modeling using the WAVEWATCH III model and the observation timeseries data of significant wave height at fixed buoy stations was evaluated around Korea coasts. Numerical experiments examined the impact of DA based on the location of the buoy station, whether nearshore or offshore, and compared the model performance with Optimal Interpolation (OI) and Ensemble Optimal Interpolation (EnOI) methods. Additionally, variations based on the influence radius were also investigated. Analysis showed that the OI method notably enhanced performance, especially nearshore, where DA's impact increased with the influence radius but diminished offshore