UK Continental Shelf

Sea level; Date and time; Wave direction; Wave height and period statistics; Horizontal spatial co-ordinates; Wave height estimates; Horizontal velocity of the water column (currents)

This dataset consists of (1) Bulk properties of sea surface waves, including significant wave height, period and direction. Some additional wave properties relevant to their impact at the sea bed are also included: friction velocity, bottom orbital velocity, direction and period at the sea bed. (2) Depth-averaged eastward and northward current components and sea surface height above sea level. Additionally, eastward and northward current induced stresses at the sea bed. The modelled two datasets are prepared on the same regular grid. With a resolution of around 1/9th x 1/6th degree, i.e. ~ 12km. The continental shelf model extends from 48 to 63 degrees longitude north and from 12 degrees longitude west to 13 degrees longitude east. The dataset was generated by the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory Coastal Ocean Modelling System (POLCOMS) and the spectral wave model (WAM). The data are available in single monthly files, for a 10 year period from January 1999 to December 2008, the POLCOMS data are 30 minute averages, and the WAM data are hourly. The dataset was generated by the UK National Oceanography Centre, Liverpool. The dataset consists of 240 data files in Climate and Forecast (CF) compliant NetCDF format, 120 from POLCOMS and 120 from WAM. This work is funded by the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) under contract MEPF 09-P114 and NERC National Capability funding. More information about the modelled data set and its applications can be found in Bricheno et al. (2015), and Aldridge et al. (2014).

Aldridge J.N., Parker E.R., Bricheno L.M., Green S.L., van der Molen J. (2015) Assessing Physical Disturbance of the Seabed by Waves and Currents: Application to the Northern European Continental Shelf, Continental Shelf Research; Lucy M. Bricheno, Judith Wolf, John Aldridge (2015) Distribution of natural disturbance due to wave and tidal bed currents around the UK, Continental Shelf Research

British Oceanographic Data Centre
Joseph Proudman Building 6 Brownlow Street
Liverpool
Merseyside
L3 5DA
United Kingdom