ESTONIAN ACADEMY
PUBLISHERS
eesti teaduste
akadeemia kirjastus
PUBLISHED
SINCE 1952
 
Earth Science cover
Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences
ISSN 1736-7557 (Electronic)
ISSN 1736-4728 (Print)
Impact Factor (2022): 1.1
Locally calibrated wave hindcasts in the Estonian coastal sea in 1966–2011; pp. 42–56
PDF | doi: 10.3176/earth.2013.05

Author
Ülo Suursaar
Abstract

Wave parameters were studied in four differently exposed fetch-limited Estonian coastal sea locations: the Harilaid Peninsula facing W–NW, Letipea N–NE, Matsi SW and Kõiguste SE. Based on high-quality measurements of waves with the bottom-mounted Recording Doppler Current Profiler in 2006–2011, a model for significant wave height was calibrated separately for those locations. Using wind forcing data from Estonian coastal meteorological stations, a set of hindcasts was obtained over the period of 1966–2011. The wave heights showed some quasi-periodic cycles with a high stage in 1980–1995, and probably also from 2007; a prevailing overall decrease in the mean wave height; an increase in high wave events at the windward coasts of West Estonia but a decrease at the northern and southeastern coasts. The spatially contrasting results for differently exposed coasts reflect the corresponding variations in local wind, which are probably caused by changes in large-scale atmospheric pressure patterns above Northern Europe and a poleward shift of cyclones’ trajectories. Although featuring outstanding calibration results, the long-term wave hindcast may be impacted by possible inhomogeneities in the older wind data.

References

Bishop, C. T., Donelan, M. A. & Kahma, K. K. 1992. Shore protection manual’s wave prediction reviewed. Coastal Engineering, 17, 25–48.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0378-3839(92)90012-J

Broman, B., Hammarklint, T., Rannat, K., Soomere, T. & Valdmann, A. 2006. Trends and extremes of wave fields in the north-eastern part of the Baltic Proper. Oceanologia, 48(S), 165–184.

Gidrometeoizdat 1990. Nauchno-prikladnoj spravochnik po klimatu SSSR [Scientific-Practical Handbook of the Climate of the USSR], Series 3, Parts 1–6, 4th ed., Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 208 pp. [in Russian].

Huttula, T. 1994. Suspended sediment transport in Lake Säkylän Pyhäjärvi. Aqua Fennica, 24, 171–185.

Jaagus, J. & Kull, A. 2011. Changes in surface wind directions in Estonia during 1966–2008 and their relationships with large-scale atmospheric circulation. Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences, 60, 220–231.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3176/earth.2011.4.03

Jaagus, J., Post, P. & Tomingas, O. 2008. Changes in storminess on the western coast of Estonia in relation to large-scale atmospheric circulation. Climate Research, 36, 29–40.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/cr00725

Jönsson, A., Broman, B. & Rahm, L. 2002. Variations in the Baltic Sea wave fields. Ocean Engineering, 30, 107–126.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0029-8018(01)00103-2

Keevallik, S. 2011. Shifts in meteorological regime of late winter and early spring in Estonia during recent decades. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 105, 209–215.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00704-010-0356-x

Keevallik, S. & Soomere, T. 2009. Seasonal and diurnal variations of wind parameters at Pakri. Estonian Journal of Engineering, 15, 227–239.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3176/eng.2009.3.06

Keevallik, S., Soomere, T., Pärg, R. & Žukova, V. 2007. Outlook for wind measurement at Estonian automatic weather stations. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Engineering, 13, 234–251.

Keevallik, S., Männik, A. & Hinnov, J. 2010. Comparison of HIRLAM wind data with measurements at Estonian coastal meteorological stations. Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences, 59, 90–99.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3176/earth.2010.1.07

Komen, G. J., Cavaleri, L., Donelan, M., Hasselmann, K., Hasselmann, S. & Janssen, P. A. E. M. 1994. Dynamics and Modelling of Ocean Waves. Cambridge University Press, 532 pp.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511628955

Launiainen, J. & Laurila, T. 1984. Marine wind characteristics in the northern Baltic Sea. Finnish Marine Research, 250, 52–86.

Lehmann, A., Getzlaff, K. & Harlass, J. 2011. Detailed assessment of climate variability in the Baltic Sea area for the period 1958 to 2009. Climate Research, 46, 185–196.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/cr00876

Leppäranta, M. & Myrberg, K. 2009. Physical Oceanography of the Baltic Sea. Springer Praxis, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 378 pp.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79703-6

Luhamaa, A., Kimmel, K., Männik, A. & Rõõm, R. 2011. High resolution re-analysis for the Baltic Sea region during 1965–2005 period. Climate Dynamics, 36, 727–738.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00382-010-0842-y

Massel, S. R. 1996. Ocean Surface Waves: Their Physics and Prediction. World Scientific, Singapore, 491 pp.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/2285

Pinto, J. G., Ulbrich, U., Leckenbusch, G. C, Spangehl, T., Reyers, M. & Zacharias, S. 2007. Changes in storm track and cyclone activity in three SRES ensemble experiments with the ECHAM5/MPI-OM1 GCM. Climate Dynamics, 29, 195–210.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00382-007-0230-4

Räämet, A. & Soomere, T. 2010. The wave climate and its seasonal variability in the northeastern Baltic Sea. Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences, 59, 100–113.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3176/earth.2010.1.08

Räämet, A., Suursaar, Ü., Kullas, T. & Soomere, T. 2009. Reconsidering uncertainties of wave conditions in the coastal areas of the northern Baltic Sea. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, 56, 257–261.

Samad, M. A. & Yanful, E. K. 2005. A design approach for selecting the optimum water cover depth for subaqueous disposal of sulfide mine tailings. Canadian Geotechnological Journal, 42, 207–228.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/t04-094

Seymour, R. J. 1977. Estimating wave generation in restricted fetches. Journal of the Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Division, Proceedings of ASCE, 103, 251–263.

Soomere, T. 2001. Wave regimes and anomalies off north-western Saaremaa Island. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Engineering, 7, 157–173.

Soomere, T. 2003. Anisotropy of wind and wave regimes in the Baltic proper. Journal of Sea Research, 49, 305–316.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1385-1101(03)00034-0

Soomere, T. & Räämet, A. 2011. Long-term spatial variations in the Baltic Sea wave fields. Ocean Science, 7, 141–150.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/os-7-141-2011

Soomere, T. & Zaitseva, I. 2007. Estimates of wave climate in the northern Baltic Proper derived from visual wave observations at Vilsandi. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Engineering, 13, 48–64.

Soomere, T., Behrens, A., Tuomi, L. & Nielsen, J. W. 2008. Wave conditions in the Baltic Proper and in the Gulf of Finland during windstorm Gudrun. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 8, 37–46.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/nhess-8-37-2008

Suursaar, Ü. 2009. Interpretation of Doppler effect-based vertical velocity measurements in the coastal waters of Estonia, Baltic Sea: possible influence of upwelling, Langmuir circulation and turbidity. In Fluid Structure Interaction. WIT Transactions on the Built Environment, Vol. 105 (Brebbia, C. A., ed.), pp. 193–203. WIT Press, Southampton, Boston.

Suursaar, Ü. 2010. Waves, currents and sea level variations along the Letipea–Sillamäe coastal section of the southern Gulf of Finland. Oceanologia, 52, 391–416.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5697/oc.52-3.391

Suursaar, Ü. & Aps, R. 2007. Spatio-temporal variations in hydro-physical and -chemical parameters during a major upwelling event off the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland in summer 2006. Oceanologia, 49, 209–228.

Suursaar, Ü. & Kullas, T. 2009. Decadal variations in wave heights off Kelba, Saaremaa Island, and their relation­ships with changes in wind climate. Oceanologia, 51, 39–61.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5697/oc.51-1.039

Suursaar, Ü. & Sooäär, J. 2007. Decadal variations in mean and extreme sea level values along the Estonian coast of the Baltic Sea. Tellus A, 59, 249–260.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0870.2006.00220.x

Suursaar, Ü., Jaagus, J., Kont, A., Rivis, R. & Tõnisson, H. 2008. Field observations on hydrodynamic and coastal geomorphic processes off Harilaid Peninsula (Baltic Sea) in winter and spring 2006–2007. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 80, 31–41.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2008.07.007

Suursaar, Ü., Szava-Kovats, R. & Tõnisson, H. 2011. Wave climate and coastal processes in the Osmussaar–Neugrund region, Baltic Sea. In Coastal Processes II, WIT Transactions on Ecology and Environment, Vol. 149 (Benassai, G., Brebbia, C. A. & Rodriguez, G. R., eds), pp. 99–110. WIT Press, Southampton, Boston.

Zaitseva-Pärnaste, I., Suursaar, Ü., Kullas, T., Lapimaa, S. & Soomere, T. 2009. Seasonal and long-term variations of wave conditions in the northern Baltic Sea. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, 56, 277–281.

Zaitseva-Pärnaste, I., Soomere, T. & Tribštok, O. 2011. Spatial variations in the wave climate change in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, 64, 195–199.

Tuomi, L., Kahma, K. & Pettersson, H. 2011. Wave hindcast statistics in the seasonally ice-covered Baltic Sea. Boreal Environment Research, 16, 451–472.

USACE 1984. U.S. Army Coastal Engineering Research Center, Shore Protection Manual, Vol. 1, Third Ed., U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington D.C., 719 pp.

USACE 2002. Coastal Engineering Manual. Department of the Army. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Manual. No. 1110-2-1100, 2002, CD.

Weisse, R. & Günther, R. 2007. Wave climate and long-term changes for the Southern North Sea obtained from a high-resolution hindcast 1958–2002. Ocean Dynamics, 57, 161–172.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10236-006-0094-x

Back to Issue