%0 Journal Article
%4 dpi.inpe.br/plutao/2012/06.21.21.10
%2 dpi.inpe.br/plutao/2012/06.21.21.10.26
%@doi 10.1155/2012/306723
%@issn 1687-9406
%F lattes: 3852581196429739 2 FariasLoreChap:2012:SwWiDi
%T Swell and Wind-Sea Distributions over the Mid-Latitude and Tropical North Atlantic for the Period 2002 2008
%D 2012
%A Farias, Eduardo G. G. de,
%A Lorenzzetti, Joao Antonio,
%A Chapron, Bertrand,
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)
%@affiliation Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE)
%@affiliation Laboratoire d’Océanographie Spatiale, Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), 70 29280 Plouzané, France
%@electronicmailaddress
%@electronicmailaddress loren@dsr.inpe.br
%B International Journal of Oceanography
%V 2012
%N Article ID 306723
%P 1-8
%K Waves, Swell, Wind-Sea, Tropical Atlantic.
%X We present an analysis of wind-sea and swell fields for mid-latitude and tropical Atlantic for the period 20022008 using a combination of satellite data (altimeter significant wave height and scatterometer surface winds) and model results (spectrum peak wave period and propagation direction). Results show a dominance of swell over wind-sea regimes throughout the year. A small but clear decrease in swell energy and an associated increase in wind-sea potential growth were observed in the NE trade winds zone. A seasonal summertime increase in wind-sea energy in the Amazon River mouth and adjacent shelf region and in African coast was apparent in the results, probably associated to a strengthening of the alongshore trade winds in these regions. Albeit with a significantly smaller energy contribution of wind-seas as compared to swell energy, we could say that a kind of mixed seas is more evident in the trade winds region, with the remaining area being highly dominated by swell energy. An analysis of wave-age shows the absence of young-seas. Only ~2% of all data points was classified as wind-sea, a classification confirmed by a fit to a theoretical relation between wind speed, peak period, and significant wave height for fully developed wind-seas.
%@language en
%O Setores de Atividade: Educação.