Surface Wave Regime in the Brazilian Coast

In this research the surface wave regime in the Atlantic Ocean surrounding the Brazilian Coast is examined using ships observations collected since 1957. Although this kind of data has some bias, it is possible to obtain some useful results. The region studied lies from 10N to 50S and from 20W to the Brazilian Coast. The analysis reveals the dominant role of the trade winds, the anticyclone sub-tropical, and the extratropical cyclones in the wave evolution. The cyclone follows tracks towards the west, and sometimes produces strong winds blowing over a large area. They are responsible for the biggest waves in the southern Brazilian coast. The impact of the sea surface temperature (SST) in the cyclone deepening rate as simulated by a limited area numerical model is investigated. The results show that the SST seems to have a major influence in the deepening rate of shallow cyclone.