Influence of Trade Winds on the Detection of Trans-Hemispheric Swells near the Canary Islands

Abstract

Trade winds are common in the Canary Islands archipelago and affect not only the weather of the islands but also the local wave climate. On the other hand, the arrival in the Canaries of swells from the Southern Hemisphere is little known, but usual. The records of these swells arriving in the Canary Islands have two clear peaks throughout the year, one in spring and the other in autumn. In this work, how the trade winds influence the detection of this type of swells is studied. It is estimated that only approximately half of this type of wave that reaches the Canary Islands could be adequately recorded in the buoy output data tables by the action of these winds. Therefore, their effects may be underestimated in local wave climate studies.

Keywords

• trade winds
• swells
• wind waves
• deep water buoy
• bias correction techniques
• Canary Islands