Uncertainties of wave data collected from different sources in the Adriatic Sea and consequences on the design of marine structures

Uncertainties of wave data sources got increasing attention in the last decades because of their importance for marine structural design and analysis. In the present study, four different wave data sources collected at close geographical locations in the Adriatic Sea are described and compared. Two databases are composed of collected in-situ measurements, while two databases are obtained by hindcasting. The consequences that differences in collected wave data could have on the design of marine structures are presented in three examples: assessment of the wave energy that can be used for selection of wave energy converter, prediction of extreme wave loads for structural strength assessment, and computation of the accumulated fatigue damage. The results indicate surprisingly large differences between wave data contained in the four discussed databases, especially for their extreme values. Consequently, differences in presented application examples are also quite significant. As discussed in the paper, there are various possible reasons for the considerable uncertainties of wave data sources. To better understand and compare the obtained results, wave data from different sources are transformed to refer to the same sea state duration and to the same water depth. Comparative analysis is then performed on the original and transformed data. The novelty of the present study is the quantification of the consequences of the wave data sources uncertainties on the design of marine structures in the Adriatic Sea. •Two databases from in-situ measurements and two reanalysis databases are compared for the location in the Adriatic Sea.•Wave scatter diagrams and extreme wave heights are compared and consequences on design of marine structures are analysed.•Uncertainties of wave data sources are rather high, and the implications are the most important for fatigue life prediction.•Explanation of uncertainties found are offered in the study.