Validity of satellite data for design wave estimation in Chinese offshore areas

A good knowledge of local sea-state climates is a key factor for the design of offshore structures, of marine operations, and for the optimization of shipping routes. Common practice is to construct the wave and mind probability distributions from field measurements and observations when available, to use hindcast models or to carry out measurements campaigns if time and budget allow, and to accept the coarse grid and large uncertainties of an atlas in all other cases. Recently, a new alternative appeared with the availability of satellite data from, for instance, Geosat or Ers1. Some previous studies have shown that for areas such as the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Guinea, the estimation of a design wave from satellite data led to values in the same precision and confidence range as when using field measurements. The present study would be usefully supplemented by comparison with data from other sources, but preliminary investigations lead to the belief that satellites are a very efficient source of data, provided that specific procedures are carefully applied in typhoon-prone areas.