An Assessment of Calibrated and Non-calibrated Wave Propagation Models: Application to the Harbor of Póvoa de Varzim

Mazzolari, A.; Contente, A.F.P.S.; Araújo, M.A.V.C., and Trigo-Teixeira, A., 2020. An assessment of calibrated and non-calibrated wave propagation models: Application to the Harbor of Póvoa de Varzim. In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 1195–1200. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. A phase averaged model and a phase resolving model are spatially coupled to study the wave penetration in the harbor of Póvoa de Varzim (Portugal), with specific regard to its marina, exposed to excessive agitation for energetic offshore events. Modeled results are compared with wave statistics measured inside the marina. It is shown that the use of a non-calibrated model configuration leads to inaccurate results: for this particular case, the modeled wave agitation underestimates up to -85% the wave statistics for the most energetic measured events. Calibration tests against field data and validation verifications are shown to be necessary for improving the model accuracy and for assessing the proper evaluation of the defense structure performance, before any layout reconfiguration is considered.