Sizing the largest ocean waves using the SWOT mission

Abstract

Winds generate waves over the oceans with a wide range of properties. The largest wave heights and periods are important parameters in the design of marine structures. Extreme waves also play an outsize role in air–sea fluxes and coastal dynamics, and leave imprints on seismic and sediment records. Rare events have so far escaped measurements, with few wave heights from satellite altimeters exceeding 16 m, and no associated measurement of wave periods. Here, we use swells radiated from storms to reveal long wave periods within the storms, and their generation mechanism. Swells are resolved in the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite sea level measurements. Patterns of increasing swell wavelength and decreasing swell height away from storms are consistent with a nonlinear transfer of energy from short to long period waves. We propose an updated parametric shape for wave spectra in storms that aligns with SWOT swell measurements. It reduces energy levels by a factor of 20 at 1.2 to 1.4 times the peak period compared to commonly used spectral shapes and allows estimation of storm wave periods from swell heights. Consistent with less extreme conditions, the peak period generally increases with wave height. This was particularly verified for the largest storm peak period of 20.2 ± 0.6 s, obtained for the event with the largest significant wave height 19.7 ± 0.3 m measured by altimeters. These observations of long period swells should have a wide range of applications from coastal dynamics to seismology.