Abstract
Knowledge of regional wave climates is critical for coastal planning, management, and protection. In order to develop a regional wave climate, it is important to understand the atmospheric systems responsible for wave generation. This study examines the variability of the southwest Western Australian (SWWA) shelf and nearshore wind wave climate and its relationship to southern hemisphere climate variability represented by various atmospheric indices: the southern oscillation index (SOI), the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), the Indian Ocean Dipole Mode Index (DMI), the Indian Ocean Subtropical Dipole (IOSD), the latitudinal position of the subtropical high-pressure ridge (STRP), and the corresponding intensity of the subtropical ridge (STRI). A 21-year wave hindcast (1994–2014) of the SWWA continental shelf was created using the third generation wave model Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN), to analyse the seasonal and inter-annual wave climate variability and its relationship to the atmospheric regime. Strong relationships between wave heights and the STRP and the STRI, a moderate correlation between the wave climate and the SAM, and no significant correlation between SOI, DMI, and IOSD and the wave climate were found. Strong spatial, seasonal, and inter-annual variability, as well as seasonal longer-term trends in the mean wave climate were studied and linked to the latitudinal changes in the subtropical high-pressure ridge and the Southern Ocean storm belt. As the Southern Ocean storm belt and the subtropical high-pressure ridge shifted southward (northward) wave heights on the SWWA shelf region decreased (increased). The wave height anomalies appear to be driven by the same atmospheric conditions that influence rainfall variability in SWWA.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Siobain Mulligan and Reena Lowry from the Government of Western Australia, Department of Transport for providing access to the wave buoy data. Furthermore, the authors wish to thank Brian Skjerven from the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre for his support. The authors like to acknowledge the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) for granting access to the ERA-Interim dataset and Delft University of Technology for providing the SWAN source code. This work was supported by resources provided by the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre with funding from the Australian Government and the Government of Western Australia. MW received the SIRF, UPAIS, and UWA Top-Up Scholarships. Finally, we thank three anonymous reviewers for their feedback and suggestions, which helped improving the manuscript to its final form.
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Wandres, M., Pattiaratchi, C., Hetzel, Y. et al. The response of the southwest Western Australian wave climate to Indian Ocean climate variability. Clim Dyn 50, 1533–1557 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-017-3704-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-017-3704-z