Surface Wave Dynamics Experiment (SWADE) Oct 1990–Mar 1991

SWADE experiment was aimed to study the evolution of the directional wave spectrum, including the wind forcing and wave dissipation source terms in order to improve numerical wave modeling, as a collaboration of 20 marine institutions. The experiment took place during October 1990–March 1991 off the American mid-Atlantic coast. Using an array of platforms (buoys, aircraft and a ship), the wave spectrum and wind field were measured with high resolution in both time and space.

A field experiment beginning in the fall of 1990 off the coast of Virginia to study the evolution of the directional wave spectrum and offered the key finding was that it is critical to get the wind forcing correct. A variety of instrumentation (e.g., buoys, ships, aircraft) was used to measure as accurately as possible the wind field over the experimental domain.

SWADE most significant impact was a better understanding of the evolution of the directional wave spectrum under fetch-limited and duration-limited conditions. More than this, it was the first comprehensive ocean waves experiment that made direct measurements of the various terms in the wave action balance equation, which is the underlying principle of all wave prediction models.

View SWADE PDF presentation.