Estimation of scalar ocean wave spectra by the maximum entropy method

This paper describes the estimation of ocean wave spectra with the maximum entropy method. This method is based on an autoregressive model for the time series of sea surface elevation, and gives an all-pole estimate. The wave series are also prefiltered to introduce one zero in the spectral estimate. The methods are successfully applied to estimate the spectra of some typical wave series, requiring between 10 and 30 parameters. Our comparison with conventional spectral estimates also show that the new methods give good estimates of the spectral moments, that is important because the moments are parameters in a statistical description of the sea surface. The algorithms involved are well suited for realtime estimation of high-resolution wave spectra.