Marenco Barranco, Roy Enrique

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    Numerical modeling of wave transformation in San Juan, Puerto Rico: Comparison between SWAN and SWASH
    (2024-05-10) Marenco Barranco, Roy Enrique; Canals Silander, Miguel; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Rodríguez Abudo, Sylvia; Amador Ramírez, André; Weil, Ernesto F; Department of Marine Sciences; George, Dibin M.
    This study examines the comparison between SWAN and SWASH in a realistic 2D scenario validated using field data to describe wave transformation over a reef environment in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The performance of both models was evaluated using observations collected during a field program by the U.S. Geological Survey between November 2018 and the end of March 2019. SWAN, a phase-averaged model, resolves wave transformation using JONSWAP spectrum, incorporating various physical processes including the wind field, white-capping, wave breaking, and bottom friction. SWASH, a phase-resolving non-hydrostatic model, predicts wave propagation with high resolution and different vertical layer configurations, accounting for wave breaking through shock-capturing mechanisms. SWAN was run with an 8-meter spatial resolution and forced with buoy wind and wave data, showing very good results across a range of sea states. The SWASH wave model was then run for 20 representative sea states and compared with SWAN. SWASH was also run at 8-meter horizontal resolution and was forced with wave buoy data. It was run using three vertical configurations: one-layer, two-layers, and three-layers. A notable improvement in performance was observed when transitioning from a one-layer to a two-layer configuration; however, additional increases in layers did not deliver significant benefits. In general, SWAN predominantly demonstrated superior performance in predicting wave heights across the examined area for most sea states, except in scenarios characterized by longer wave periods (>11 seconds), where SWASH showed marginally better accuracy. This pattern shows the robustness of SWAN's phase-averaged methodology under a diverse array of wave conditions. The results also shed light on the significant computational trade-offs inherent in choosing between the computationally efficient, phase-averaged SWAN model and the more resource-intensive, phase-resolving SWASH model. Despite the latter's sophisticated physics, the heightened computational demands of SWASH did not uniformly result in superior model performance, especially in cases involving sea states with shorter wave periods. The performance of SWASH was comparable to SWAN for lower frequency events, but it’s poor performance in shorter wave periods may have been affected by the limitation of its 8-meter spatial resolution.