Global coastal attenuation of wind-waves observed with radar altimetry

Coastal studies of wave climate and evaluations of wave energy resources are mainly regional and based on the use of computationally very expensive models or a network of in-situ data. Considering the significant wave height, satellite radar altimetry provides an established global and relatively long-term source, whose coastal data are nevertheless typically flagged as unreliable within 30km of the coast. This study exploits the reprocessing of the radar altimetry signals with a dedicated fitting algorithm to retrieve several years of significant wave height records in the coastal zone. We show significant variations in annual cycle amplitudes and mean state in the last 30km from the coastline compared to offshore, in areas that were up to now not observable with standard radar altimetry. Consequently, a decrease in the average wave energy flux is observed. Globally, we found that the mean significant wave height at 3km off the coast is on average 22% smaller than offshore, the amplitude of the annual cycle is reduced on average by 14% and the mean energy flux loses 38% of its offshore value. Reprocessed data from satellite altimetry show that the mean significant wave height decreases globally by 22% on average from 30km to 3km from the coast. By combining these data with wave period from reanalysis, we estimate a mean reduction of 38% concerning the mean wave energy flux.

Automated summary

The study focuses on reprocessing satellite radar altimetry signals using a dedicated algorithm to retrieve several years of significant wave height records in the coastal zone. Results show significant variations in annual cycle amplitudes and mean state within 30km of the coastline compared to offshore, leading to a decrease in the average wave energy flux.