Impacts of Bias Correction of Wind Forecasts on Hydrodynamic and Wave Model Predictions

As part of a NOAA funded CSTAR project, the work presented here is designed to support efforts to extend the Nearshore Wave Prediction System (NWPS) into the coastal estuary. The current suite of operational models does not have the spatial resolution that is needed to resolve the fine scale processes associated with complex estuarine wind-driven circulation nor its detailed land-water mask. This ultimately requires the use of high-resolution hydrodynamic models that are, in turn, forced by surface wind output from these operational models. As a result, bias errors present in these wind forcing can be problematic as these errors can propagate into the forecasts of water elevation, wave height, etc. For this study, partnered with Meteorology colleagues the impacts of bias corrections on the results from both a hydrodynamic and wave model are tested. Partners compare the ensemble (10 m) winds from the SREF to three Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) sites in the vicinity of model domain. Biases are identified and removed to produce an improved wind forcing over the IRL. Both the modeled winds and the bias corrected winds will be used to force separate coupled wave and circulation simulations using the unstructured version of the Simulating Waves Nearshore model (SWAN) and ADvanced CIRCulation model (ADCIRC). The model results are compared against each other and validated against available field data.