6.
MODEL VALIDATION
A forty-year hindcast for the time period from 1961 to 2000 was performed, and the results validated against all
available measurements. Table 2 summarizes the comparisons with the Topex measurement locations while Table 3
gives comparisons to the historical recorded buoy data.
It is important to note that detailed examination of the recorded buoy data showed that many of these buoys were
located adjacent to quite complex shoreline configurations. To properly transform the deep water waves to each site
would have required comprehensive shallow water modelling; however, this level of effort was beyond the scope of
the study. For this investigation, the spectral wave data were transformed to the buoy locations using simplistic
means (Snell's Law), thus, the comparisons are only of limited accuracy.
The hindcast showed some distinct spatial trends with an underestimation of the wave climate in the south to a
overestimate in the north. A short period of directional spectral data were available for the Valparaiso region. A
comparison of these data confirmed our suspicions that the model was potentially creating excessive swell in the
North Pacific.
Based on the validation results, some short term (1 year) simulations have been carried out implementations of the
various numerical schemes outlined in Section 5. These subsequent comparisons have shown that the swell over-
estimate may be primarily attributable to the inadequacies of the propagation scheme. It was also identified that the
overall spectral spreading was too large, and various steps will be taken to correct this in the model. As a result, the
hindcast will be re-run in the near future.
Table 2
Wave Model Comparisons to Topex Satellite Data
Topex
Bias
RMSE
Scatter Index
Location
(m)
(m)
1
0.04
1.14
27%
2
-0.05
0.97
23%
3
-0.10
0.85
23%
4
-0.12
0.78
24%
5
-0.15
0.74
25%
6
-0.15
0.74
26%
7
-0.04
0.70
26%
8
-0.09
0.70
28%
9
0.11
0.62
28%
10
0.25
0.60
26%
11
0.29
0.54
23%
12
0.03
0.62
23%
Table 3
Wave Model Comparisons to Wave Buoy Data
Hm0 (m)
Tp (s)
Buoy
Location
Bias
RMSE
Bias
RMSE
Arica
0.32
0.55
0.8
3.1
Iquique
0.29
0.54
1.0
4.1
Caldera
0.57
0.72
0.9
3.9
Coquimbo
0.09
0.53
1.4
3.8
Valparaiso (1979-81)
-0.14
0.64
0.6
4.0
Valparaiso (2000)
0.32
0.72
3.0
4.4
Constitucion
0.28
0.65
1.4
4.7
Golfo Coronados
0.46
0.91
2.4
5.2
Note: Wave buoys generally located in shallow water with exposure limitations. Detailed shallow water wave modelling was
not performed.
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