Oceanographers at The University of Western Australia are set to make advances in wave forecasting with the deployment of small drifting wave buoys that promise to improve the accuracy of wave predictions, allowing for safer and more informed activities for those reliant on ocean conditions.
The research is being carried out through UWA's ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Transforming Energy Infrastructure through Digital Engineering (TIDE).
Associate Professor at UWA's School of Earth Sciences and Oceans Institute and project lead at TIDE Dr Jeff Hansen said the drifting wave buoys, which float on the ocean surface, measured wave height, period (time between waves), and direction – data crucial for forecasting wave and swell conditions.
Dr Hansen and Research Fellow at UWA's Oceans Institute Marzieh Derkani recently supervised the release of an additional four drifting wave buoys in the Indian Ocean on a voyage from Heard Island, one of Australia's sub-Antarctic islands, assisted by Austral Fisheries.
Image: Research Fellow Marzieh Derkani and project lead at TIDE Dr Jeff Hansen with one of the 'drifting' buoys.
The new generation of small and low-cost, solar-powered wave buoys are expected to float in ocean currents and collect data for two years, complementing an existing fleet of 10 drifting buoys.
"These new low-cost wave buoys now make it possible to collected detailed wave data, in real-time, from the middle of the ocean, where historically we haven't had observations of waves," Dr Hansen said.
"This allows us to compare and feed these data into wave forecasting models to improve their accuracy, something we're working on with the Bureau of Meteorology."
Wave forecasting models lag behind atmospheric models in terms of accuracy partly due to the lack of data assimilation, a technique where observations are used to adjust models to better match actual conditions.
Dr Hansen said the real-time data from the new buoys and satellites that measure wave height would now provide much-needed data for more accurate wave forecasting.
Image: One of the small solar-powered wave buoys casts off into the ocean.
"Forecasting is inherently difficult as errors often compound in time leading to incorrect forecasts, but by using observations and data assimilation we can improve the starting point of each seven-day forecast, produced several times a day," he said. "If the starting point is wrong, the rest of the forecast is likely to be wrong."
The drifting buoys are part of a larger wave buoy network operated by UWA, which was recently enhanced by investment from Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), with all real-time data made freely accessible to the public.
"We aim to enable all those dependent on the ocean, including aquaculture, tourism operators, local fishermen, and surfers, to better prepare and be safe out on the water," Dr Hansen said. Track the progress of the buoys here.
