Development of a Virtual Buoy System using Real-time Wave Prediction

This study developed a real-time virtual buoy system using wave predictions produced by SWAN with input data of hourly analysis GPV. Although real-time ocean information is provided by NOWPHAS, the location of wave observations is limited. The present virtual buoy system fulfills a function of wave instrument by providing current and near future ocean conditions at any location where wave observations are unavailable. Archives of hourly wave analysis can be extracted at any location within the computational domain, allowing immediate evaluation of hindcasts. No additional simulations are needed to analyze incident events such as coastal disasters and accidents caused by high winds and waves.