Storminess Evolution in the Catalan Coast during the Period 1959-2008

Abstract

In this work we analyse the storminess variability along the Catalancoast by analysing 56 nodes of a 49 years hind-cast for the wave data. The wave data is obtained every three hours with the WAM model (spatial resolution of 1/6°) forced with wind fields from the atmospheric model ARPERA. We first consider the classification of the wave storms as given by Mendoza et al. (2011), which uses an energy parameter, defined as the integral of Hs2 (Hs being the significant wave height) to classify the storms in 5 categories. The evolution of the frequency of occurrence of each category is presented and discussed. Further, we propose a different parameter to provide a new classification of the storms, which is based on the energy flux absorbed by the coasts during the extreme events (Hs > 2m). This new parameter includes the wave period and the direction of the waves, and it is an integral of the energy flux. The evolution of the energy absorbed by the coast (and corresponding intensities) is also analysed