| The main objective of this investigation was to obtain a wave climatology for the northern coast of Puerto Rico during the seasonal extremes of (1) Winter, covering the months of November, December, and January of 2001–2002 and (2) Summer, covering the months of June, July, and August of 2002. Three representative stations along the northern coast of the Island were chosen: (1) Isabela, (2) Arecibo, and (3) San Juan. The simulations were made using the SWAN (Simulating Waves Nearshore) wave model, implemented in the form of nested grids and forced by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) winds.; Verification of the computational results was made at oceanic scales through a comparison of significant wave height, peak period, and frequency spectrum of the SWAN model, with data from National Data Buoy Center (NOAA-NDBC) buoys at three locations along the east coast of the United States.; Wave data for the north coast of Puerto Rico, measured by a wave and tide recorder called SBE 26, was compared with the SWAN model results. The SBE 26 recorded data at Arecibo from February 4 to February 13 (2002), and April 22 to April 24 (2002), and at Aguada from April 8 to April 11 (2002). The effects of marine currents and computational mesh refinement in the coastal areas were evaluated.; A weak sensitivity to mesh size was observed in the computations for coastal areas (fine mesh). The effects of coastal currents in the simulations were insignificant. The techniques developed during this study provide unavailable spatial resolution of wave conditions along the north coast of Puerto Rico and constitute the basis for real-time wave forecasts.; The wave climatologies for the three locations along the Puerto Rico's north coast show maximum wave heights, in the breaking zone, of 3.6 meters in Winter and 1.5 meters in Summer. The mean wave direction in Winter is from the northeast, while waves from the east predominate during Summer. |
