Joint Distribution Characteristics of Sea State and Wave Height Period Along the Maritime Silk Road Based on ERA5 Reanalysis System

Abstract

Using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts' ERA5 reanalysis system and global meteorological data at a time resolution of 1h from 2012 to 2022, an analysis of the sea conditions in typical sea areas along the Maritime Silk Road was conducted. The validity and accuracy of the ERA5 data were verified using measured data from the South China Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the TEMA New Container Terminal Project in Ghana, and sea conditions were given for each season under the common constraints of wind and waves in the target sea area based on the supporting engineering. The average distribution of wave characteristics along the Maritime Silk Road in each season was calculated, and the joint probability distribution of effective wave height and peak period was given for typical sea areas in China's southeastern coast, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Guinea. The results show that ERA5 data can better reflect the sea conditions of the target sea area. During the construction process, special attention should be paid to the impact of summer wave height and long-period waves throughout the year based on the engineering support. The overall sea conditions in China′s southeastern coast and the Arabian Sea are relatively good, while the Bay of Bengal is more complex with effective wave height and spectral peak period greater than 1.5 m and 10 s, respectively, constituting over 85% of the total. Therefore, during the early investment planning stage, special attention should be paid to the ocean conditions in the Bay of Bengal.

Keywords

• maritime silk road
• wave characteristics distribution
• measured data