Investigation of wave characteristics in a semi-enclosed bay based on SWAN model validated with buoys and ADP-observed currents

In this study, the simulating waves nearshore (SWAN) model with a locally refined curvilinear grid system was constructed to simulate waves in Jervis Bay and the neighbouring ocean of Australia, with the aim of examining the wave characteristics in an area with special topography and practical importance. This model was verified by field observations from buoys and acoustic Doppler profilers (ADPs). The model precisions were validated for both wind-generated waves and open-ocean swells. We present an approach with which to convert ADP-observed current data from near the bottom into the significant wave height. Our approach is deduced from the Fourier transform technique and the linear wave theory. The results illustrate that the location of the bay entrance is important because it allows the swells in the dominant direction to propagate into the bay despite the narrowness of the bay entrance. The wave period T p is also strongly related to the wave direction in the semi-enclosed bay. The T p is great enough along the entire propagating direction from the bay entrance to the top of the bay, and the largest T p appears along the north-west coast, which is the end tip of the swells’ propagation.