Bivariate copula modelling of significant wave height temporal dependence: a comparison study between buoy and reanalysis data

Abstract

A comprehensive understanding of the wave climate at a site of interest is essential for offshore and coastal engineering applications such as flood risk analysis, structural reliability assessment, or the design of coastal interventions. Specifically, the significant wave height, Hs, plays a central role in these designs and assessments, as it characterizes the severity of each sea state and, therefore, governs the loads on coastal and offshore structures, controls key coastal morphodynamic phenomena, among other processes. This study, conducted in the Canary Islands, Spain, focuses on comparing the temporal evolution of wave conditions derived from reanalysis data and from a spatially overlapping buoy in probabilistic terms. Overall, relevant differences are observed between reanalysis and buoy data from a probabilistic perspective that might have consequences in design.