Patterns and cycles in the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis wind and wave data

Abstract The Climate Forecast System Reanalysis and the corresponding WAVEWATCH III hindcast datasets allow climatic interpretation of winds as well as their impacts on waves. In this paper, we analyze the continuous 31 years of global wind and wave data in terms of climate patterns and cycles. Quarterly averages and percentile plots of the wind speed and wave height illustrate the seasonal pattern and distributions of extreme events, while the annual and inter-annual variability demonstrates the wind and wave climate. The data is correlated with published indices of known atmospheric cycles. The datasets show good correspondence with the Arctic Oscillation, Antarctic Oscillation, El Nino Southern Oscillation, and the Madden-Julian Oscillation in both the wind and wave fields. The results compare well with published climate studies on regional scales and provide important linkage to the global wave climate characteristics.

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