WAVEWATCH III

WAVEWATCH III is the third-generation spectral ocean wind-wave model developed at NOAA NCEP, solving the wave action balance equation to propagate the two-dimensional wave energy spectrum across a grid. It represents wind input, nonlinear four-wave interaction, whitecapping, bottom friction, and depth-induced breaking, and runs from global to coastal scales on regular, curvilinear, or unstructured meshes. WAVEWATCH III drives NOAA’s operational global and regional wave forecasts and many national systems, output as significant wave height, peak and mean period, and direction. Mariners and routing services use its swell and sea fields to time departures and pick tracks that avoid heavy seas.