Determining the spatial scale of wave variance for the siting of wave energy converters in near shore coastal environments

Senior thesis for Oceanography 445

[author abstract] Oceanic surface waves are one of the biggest potential energy sources available to support our ever-increasing energy demands. The construction, development, and siting of large Wave Energy Converters in isolated regions are often expensive. This paper assesses a low cost and low energy alternative for wave energy research. An investigation of the spatial scale of the variability in the normalized surface wave heights (NSWHs) was performed to understand the extent of the underlying processes that control wave behavior. The variability is measured by the variance in the NSWHs at each observed paired locations along a near-shore coastal environment....Two wave buoys at different distances apart or spatial lags were designed, built, and implemented to answer the question of spatial scale variance. The buoys were deployed in central Puget Sound on a south facing, low-lying coastal, near-shore beach. ...Additional research and development of this investigation technique will further our understanding of the underlying processes, and assist in the determination of optimum siting for Wave Energy Converters at commercial viable scales.

University of Washington School of Oceanography